Smile Again with Anxiety-Free Hypnotherapy For Dental Phobia Treatment

What Causes Dental Phobia and Anxiety?

It’s clear from their overblown demonic portrayals in popular culture that dentists strike fear into the heart of a large section of the population. When you think that the use of anaesthetics is a relatively recent phenomenon, and people were having all their teeth removed as a 21st birthday present in living history, dental phobia might even be seen as an ancestral dread. And it’s certainly understandable. The mouth is a very vulnerable and personal part of the body.

But nowadays, the true horrors are more likely to result from dental neglect than from sadistic dentist-barbers. Untreated tooth decay doesn’t just affect your breath and your looks. It can lead to abscesses, tooth loss, and gum disease, which is also — so far inexplicably — associated with a higher incidence of other chronic diseases like diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis. Tooth decay can also cause infections that can invade the jaw or even the brain. Scary stuff!

How To Manage Dental Anxiety Or Phobia

Individuals may develop dental phobia for a variety of specific or obscure reasons: an unrelated trauma, a painful childhood experience in a dentist’s chair — or even vicariously, if a parent or carer transfers their own fear. Dental phobia can also be related to loss of control, a fear of being at the mercy of a stranger (who also has sharp instruments).

Regardless of the ‘root’ cause, it is possible to work through dental phobia and it’s very important to your health that you do so.

Good oral care is essential to your overall health, and the longer your teeth are left untreated, the worse off you’ll be. If you’ve been avoiding the dentist, you probably know it’s time to tackle the issue. Some dentists offer special treatments for phobic patients, such as twilight sedation. But for most people who suffer from dental phobia, the fear starts well before they reach that dentist’s chair. Getting to the dentist’s office in the first place is the problem.

How Does Bayside Psychotherapy Approach Treatment for Phobias?

At Bayside Psychotherapy, we don’t believe in band-aid solutions or generic treatments. Our therapists take a personalised approach to creating treatment plans to suit our client’s unique circumstances after thorough evaluation and consultation. We will do what we can to help you potentially deal with your dental phobia. 

After a thorough evaluation, our therapists devise a program of treatment tailored to your needs and personality. We offer either face-to-face therapy at our Highett clinic or virtual counselling sessions via a secure online connection. Self-hypnosis may also be a valuable tool to enhance your treatment. You can download our targeted MP3 recording for dental phobia here.

For your convenience, we offer either online or face-to-face sessions in our Highett clinic, depending on the practitioner.

Seeking Professional Help

Don’t let a dental phobia compromise your oral health!

Call Bayside Psychotherapy on (03) 9557 9113 to find out if we’re able to help you. Your call is completely confidential, and there’s absolutely no obligation.

You can also book an appointment by using our online booking form for online appointments. Or, if you prefer, you can book an in-clinic session.

Self-hypnosis may also work well when used in conjunction with counselling. You can download our Dental Phobia Self Hypnosis recording from our website.