Dental Anxiety

Susan on the QM team passed this article along to me, about fear and anxiety of dentists and dental procedures. What struck me as the most interesting aspect of this article was that the author is a dentist named Rod Stewart. What struck me as the second most interesting aspect was that I realized I have very little anxiety about going to the dentist. I think it's because it feels like I spent my youth in a dental chair.

When I was young, none of my baby teeth would fall out on their own. Inevitably, I would have to go to the dentist to get them pulled. For many kids this would be scary, but I loved it. There's a reason they call it laughing gas, and it really did make me feel great. I remember one time the dentist and my mom changed into Pac-Man and Mrs. Pac-Man, respectively. I accepted the startling event, but 5 minutes later, started to worry. I moved my head to the side, to get a better look. It messed up what the dentist was doing, but revealed they weren't video game characters. The bland smooth jazz and air conditioner hum in the dentist office also changed dramatically with the induction of nitrous oxide. Kenny G became a swarm of locusts and the suction sounds of the dentist's tools became a dissonant Ligeti masterpiece.

The fun didn't stop as I got older. My front teeth were knocked out, my back teeth were chipped; I got braces, headgear, but never a cavity. Going to the dentist remained anxiety-free.

As Rod Stewart, the dentist, writes, 'Fear and anxiety of dental treatment [is] usually a learned response acquired from personal experience or through the experience of others. Sometimes, this response can be 'unlearned' through subsequent positive experiences. Other times, the response is so deeply embedded in the person's emotions, it cannot be rationalized away.'

Likewise, positive experiences can't be rationalized away, either. I guess Some Guys Have All the Luck. Har-har. If you're a dentist, concerned with your patient's anxiety, we have a great line up of dental products just for you.