Authors : Abhishek Kumar
DOI : 10.22541/au.165151766.61783645/v1
Volume : 5
Issue : 6
Year : 2022
Page No : 5-11
Dental Fear and Anxiety (DFA) is the fear and anxiety an individual associates with going to the dentist. Researchers are encouraged to find and eliminate DFA since this will improve oral health and quality of life in the long run. Understanding the biology behind fear and anxiety can greatly help us in the management approaches. The amygdala is referred to as a ”fear centre,” and it has been found that fear and anxiety share overlapping neural circuits. As a result, DFA can impact both the patient-dentist relationship and the dental treatment strategy. This article thus aims to discuss the causes of DFA, and also the ways we can overcome it. Dental anxiety is caused by various fears, including fear of pain, blood-injury fears, lack of trust, and so on. It leads to the avoidance of dental care. Psychotherapeutic interventions, pharmaceutical interventions, or a combination of both can be used to manage dental anxiety. On the patient front, they should discuss their fears with the dentist, try to distract themselves, and employ breathing exercises or other mindfulness techniques like those mentioned in the article.