CATEGORY 134 AUSTRALASIAN DENTIST REALITY BITES Jade Richardson Open wide – and other terrors! Dread, anxiety and phobias have long been studied as genuine barriers in dentistry, but has the beauty industry broken these spells of fear and loathing, and redeemed dentists forever? Jade Richardson investigates. I’m beginning to get suspicious of ‘scientific studies’. I don’t know why, perhaps it’s 30 years’ experience studying, reporting, and then watching them atrophy into dust, only to be replaced by other, more fashionable studies, with totally different outcomes. Sometimes I wonder if ‘scientific studies’ are more ‘ific’ than actually science at all. Let’s have a look at the research on the number one supposed obstacle to oral health care in all the world: Fear of dentists. Yes, that’s you. According to the National Library of Medicine, ‘Dental anxiety, or dental fear, affects approximately 36% of the population, with a further 12% suffering from extreme dental fear.’ Which, said another way, means that 48% of the people on earth are afraid of you! A quick flurry on the calculator: Earth population as of March 2024: 8.1 billion. 48% of which ... tippety tap: and presto! According to ‘scientific research’ around 3.9 BILLION people are scared of you. Not just scared, apparently, but frightened of dentists in a way that reduces their quality of life and puts their health at risk. This report goes, frankly, on and on and on about why this might be, but Google, after coming up with 72,200,000 results in less than 40 seconds, when asked: Why do people fear dentists? sums it up in a single word: pain. Digging slightly deeper, Google says people fear dentists because of: u Previous trauma to the head and neck u Other traumatic experiences, including abuse u Generalised anxiety, depression or post-traumatic stress disorder u The view that the mouth is a personal area and accessing the mouth is an invasion of personal space. All of which, I find highly suspicious, given the fact that Botox, vampire facials, laser treatments, face lifts, boob jobs, butt implants, lip augmentations, acid peels, eyelid lifts, hormone injections, liposuction, tummy tucks, skin bleaching, tattoos, piercings and genital reshaping are all totally medically unnecessary, extremely invasive and pain-positive, yet are in WWW.PROFDENT.COM.AU FogOff #SUPPORTAUSTRALIAN Used by dentists since 1989 on dental loupes & mirrors. FogOff can also be used to stop spectacles, sports goggles, car windscreens and bathroom mirrors from fogging
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