Anxiety and Fears of Going to The Dentist

Silvy Mansor, Verrazzano Class of 2021, completed major in Psychology 

In the process of developing and completing my project, I learned that people can be afraid of going to the dentist for a multitude of reasons. It is important for the dentist and the staff members to know how to response to all the patient’s concerns in order to assure them that they will be safe and comfortable. Staff should be educated about x-ray radiation, sterilization and disinfecting procedures, and how to be able to comfort a nervous patient.

There are many ways of treating dental fear, such as hypnosis and desensitization methods, as well as clear communication between the patient and dental staff members regarding the patient’s treatment.

If I continued to pursue this research, I would conduct a questionnaire to give out to patients in a dental office that may indicate types of anxiety towards going to the dentist. The purpose of the continued research is to indicate what the reasons are, why they experience the anxiety and how  they can resolve these anxieties. An experiment could also be conducted by having multiple groups of people for different types of treatments. The results could show which treatment is the most effective in how to resolve and help with dental phobia.