Some of the common dental related fear do patients experience in a
dental clinic are:
- Pain
- Drills
- Needles
- Loss of teeth
- Surgery
Most commonly
dental related fears are learned directly from a traumatic experience in a dental or medical settings. The experience may be real of perceived by patient as a treat, but a single event may lead to a lifetime of fear when any element of the traumatic situation is re-experienced. The situation may have occurred many years before, but the intensity of the recalled fear may persist.
Fears also may be learned indirectly as a vicarious experience from family members, friends or even media.
There are four elements that are common to all fears
- Fear of unknown
- Fear of physical harm or injury
- Fear of loss of control
- Fear of helplessness and dependency
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