The Tribune

Dental clinician Dr Sparkman Ferguson and clinical psychologist Dr Stephanie Hutcheson are introducing a new research project to explore dental fear and its treatment.

Many people are anxious, and some are downright fearful about going to the dentist. These anxieties and fears can range from mild distress to a more pervasive dental anxiety and dental phobia. However, dental anxiety and dental phobia are not the same. It may be helpful to think of them as on a continuum, some similarities yet noticeable differences in presentation.

Dental anxiety

Dental anxiety refers to the uneasiness that many patients feel when it is time for their dental appointment. It may start as early as days before, and continue all the way to the end of the treatment on appointment day. Most people, however, with the help of a caring dental team, are able to settle down and get through the visits. Although many people can live with the feeling of anxiety, some experience extreme uneasiness accompanied with unfounded worries or fears.

The anxiety felt during a dental visit can be attributed to patient helplessness and lack of control. At a dental appointment one generally takes a seat and allows the dentist to take complete control for a treatment that has been agreed. The patient is generally in a prone position while undergoing treatment which may further feed into the feeling of helplessness and lack of control.

Embarrassment is also a key factor for those who feel anxious or uneasy during their visit. People may feel ashamed or self-conscious because of their own neglect of their dental health.

Dental phobia

Dental phobia is more than a slight feeling of uneasiness or embarrassment. For people with such a phobia, a dental visit is so terrifying that persons will go to extreme means just to avoid the appointment.

Phobia refers to an intense and irrational fear toward a person, an activity, an object, or a situation. Persons with dental phobia put off necessary dental appointments for years, leaving them sometimes with pain, chronic infections and unsightly teeth or even tooth loss.

Avoiding the dentist exposes people to higher risks of dental problems, which also take a toll on one's self-esteem and one's self-perception.

Overcoming your fear

Dr Stephanie Hutcheson, a clinical psychologist and the Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of the Bahamas, and Dr Sparkman Ferguson, a dental clinician, have devised the Adult Dental Anxiety Programme (ADAP).

What is ADAP? It is a pilot intervention and research project designed to provide psychoeducation, and interactive participation for persons with dental anxiety and dental phobia. The pilot programme is free to all participants who seek to overcome their dental fears.

Persons interested may call 323-2755 to sign up for the ADAP pilot research and intervention programme, which is scheduled for April 2018.

• The next article will take a look at how dental anxiety and dental phobias develop.