Running head: Dental Fear 1

Dental Fear

Donya Hejazi

Arizona State University

Dental Fear 2

Abstract

The community I ended up researching was Dental offices of Scottsdale. The research

was based on the stigma or fear that going to the dental office as being scary and painful. The

goal of this was to find out if the fear of the dental office is a mental problem, or if it is based on

personal experience or the dental office itself. The research also shows the tools used in the

dental office constantly and the reasons these tools are used on a patient to patient basis. I ended

up interviewing three dentists, and my parents.

Keywords​: ​Tools, Dental, Dentist, X-ray

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Dental Fear

Waking up in the morning only to realize you have to go to the dentist's office is one of

the worst things to happen to many people. They feel terrified that it becomes hard for them to

get the courage to go to the dental office. What causes dental fear is it certain instruments, what

people hear growing up, or do people have a fear of going to the dentist based off of an

experience? The community I ended up researching was Dental offices of Scottsdale. The

research that I did was done based on the stigma off of the fear that going to the dental office as

being scary and painful. The goal was to find out if the fear of the dental office is a mental

problem, or if it is based on personal experience or the dental office itself. The research also

shows the tools used in the dental office constantly and the reasons these tools are used on a

patient to patient basis. The reason for researching this community now is because I want to

become a dentist and I want to try and minimize the fear people have in any way possible.

Dentistry has a history of being a painful experience but that was before anesthesia was created.

This could cause people fear if stories were passed down throughout the generations about the

dentist.

The method for my observations when visiting the dental offices I watched how people

acted when waiting for their appointments as well as when patients were getting their teeth

cleaned. When observing patients during their appointments, I tried to not interfere so I stood

behind the dental assistants and watched over their shoulders. I noticed that for some patients

they were more anxious that I was there then when I moved on to observe the dental lab. While

observing I interviewed the staff working at the dental office. I did not try to force the dentists or

other staff members to answer all of my questions, I asked a general question about the workings
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of the office and followed the flow of the conversation. When trying to interview fellow students

who were afraid of the dental office, I asked them why they were afraid and when that fear

started. A fellow student responded that she was afraid of the dentist because she didn’t like the

oral shots(Personal communication, 29 October 2018.)Secondary research was more difficult as I

had to broaden my search when trying to find previous studies based on dental fear. The more I

broadened my search the easier it became to find the sources I needed to help be in my research

of dental fear.

The results from conducting my research varied in the aspect that dental fear is not

caused by one experience, but many other factors that vary person to person. The four objects or

artifacts that I noticed were most prominent was the xray machine, mouth mirror, explorer, and

periodontal probe. I found that if patients don’t take care of their teeth have more fear of these

instruments because it can cause pain or they get bad news from their x-rays.​ ​Fear causes people

to react differently as I have noticed some people will avoid the source of their fear as much as

possible while others will still face their fear because they know it is beneficial to their

health.The results from observing a patient get their teeth cleaned is that sometimes it’s an initial

fear and the patient relaxes as the appointment goes on.

​Many people have high anxiety to the point they get panic attacks or they feel faint when

they get to the dental office.With about half of the americans are afraid of the dentist yet only

5-10% report avoiding the dentist entirely(Clay 60). Based on my research into fear in the dental

community, some of their obstacles are making people feel safe and calm throughout their

dental appointment as well as trying not to do anything to increase a patient’s fear of the dental

community. Now that I completed my research, it will be slightly easier to understand why some
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of my friends are afraid of the dentist. I hope to help them understand that there is nothing to be

extremely afraid of. When someone says they are afraid of the dental office, ask them why and

show that it is not a laughing matter ​it can sometimes take all of a person’s energy to gather

enough courage to see the dentist to prevent any future diseases

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References

Clay A. Rebecca.(2016).Drilling down on dental fears.47(3),60. Retrieved from

https://www.apa.org/monitor/2016/03/dental-fears.aspx​.

Dentistry.(2018). Retrieved from ​https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dentistry​.

Grant,Debra.(2005).The fear factor.25(11),58-59.

http://web.a.ebscohost.com.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/ehost/detail/detail?vid=5&sid=fd61e8fd-e901-4
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N=19196987&db=aph

Hollander, Jesse. (2007). ​An Assessment of Dental Fear and Anxiety: Comparing Doctor and
Patient Perceptions. Retrieved from
https://www.oralhealthgroup.com/features/an-assessment-of-dental-fear-and-anxiety-comparing-
doctor-and-patient-perceptions/​.

Keating-Biltucci,Mary.(2011). Fear and Anxiety in the dental environment. Retrieved from

https://www.rdhmag.com/articles/print/volume-31/issue-7/features/fear-and-anxiety-in-the-denta
l-environment.html​.

Overcoming Dentophobia, a fear of the Dentist. Retreived from

https://www.gentledental-mi.com/overcoming-dentophobia-a-fear-of-the-dentist/​.

Taani Quteish.(2011). Dental fear among young adult Saudian population. 51(2),62-66.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/j.1875-595X.2001.tb00823.x​.