Blog

First of all, he won’t hurt you. Contrary to popular belief, that is not his/her job. Second of all because as reasonable adults, we should be able to understand that the man in the white robe, drill in hand and smile on face, is not there to hurt us, but rather to provide an essential medical procedure, one that can save your life-even if sometimes that means enduring a little pain, as this is the way to prevent lots of pain.

When one experiences toothache, many things go through one’s mind: vows to never eat sugar again, thoughts of at home oral surgery or tooth extraction, and many of us will inevitably wonder; how has evolution produced teeth that go bad from just eating? What did prehistoric humans do without toothbrushes? Did they frequently die at the age of 20 from toothaches and mouth sores? Why would nature play such a cruel joke on us, to produce organs for eating that can hurt worse than pretty much anything?

Dental anxiety, or fear of the dentist, is a constant and returning problem. Every dentist has stories about patients running out of the office, needing to be sedated, and other potentially wacky hijinks. But dental anxiety is a serious issue, and can cause undue pain and suffering, and is an issue that is heightened greatly by the even the slightest hint of communication problems. The existence of the communication issues can be fictional or very real, but truthfully, it is enough for a patient who is already suffering from dental anxiety issues to perceive that there is a communication problem for faith to be lost and for the situation to get out of hand.