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Fear gets a bad rap. Sometimes it can be a lifesaver. Fear stops us from engaging in risky activities, like hang gliding and bungee jumping. It also helps us make practical choices that are based on survival rather than instant gratification. But fear can also get in our way. A natural response to real danger, it can be taken to the extreme and may result in a phobia. What is a Phobia? The word is from a Greek term that means, "fear" or "morbid fear." It is used by clinical psychologists to describe a type of anxiety disorder that is characterized by a persistent, often irrational terror of a situation or object. Hundreds of phobias have been documented in human history. The most common ones involve creatures that slither or crawl, like arachnophobia (spiders) or ophidiophobia (snakes). As disturbing as those phobias may be to the people who have them, they rarely result in physical pain or permanent injury. The same cannot be said of an increasingly common terror that not only causes mental distress, but can also impact your health and wellbeing. What is Dental Phobia? Dentists are the most feared members of the medical community. It has been reliably estimated that as many as three in four U.S. adults experience some degree of fear when they visit their dentist. A significant portion of these patients (about 10 percent) suffers from dental phobia, also known as odontophobia and dentophobia. The condition is so common that it has numerous appellations. As we mentioned, most phobias do not radically alter or affect the way people live their lives. But the dental variety is different. Most dental problems, from gum disease to simple cavities, are degenerative. In other words, they will get worse without treatment. A carious tooth, for example, will continue to decay and may cause serious issues if not treated by a dentist. A cavity can also cause an abscess or infection that results in tooth loss. What Is Sedation Dentistry? As with any phobia, people who suffer from extreme dental fear often avoid the source at all costs. Many go years, even decades without having a proper dental exam. This can and often does lead to serious dental issues since dentists need to fix problems as soon as possible before they become untreatable. Sedation dentistry was designed for patients who are scared of the dentist. Also known as sleep dentistry, patients are given drugs that help them relax before their procedure. They do not actually go to sleep, but rather enter a state of extreme relaxation with the help of sedative drugs like depressants, tranquillizers, anti-anxiety medications, and nitrous oxide. Most patients do not remember much about their procedures, which is fine by them. When administered by a trained dentist, sleep dentistry is a safe and effective technique. When considering a dentist, Fenton residents visit Michigan Smiles Dental. Learn more about them at http://michigansmilesdental.com/.
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