Dental Anxiety

Question 1

Name 2 ways a person may become anxious?

Answer 1

1. Direct conditioning

2. Indirect conditioning

Question 2

What are 3 ways a person may be directly conditioned to be anxious of going to the dentist?

Answer 2

1. Dental personnel
2. Dental environment
3. Aspects of dental treatment

Question 3

What are 3 ways a person may be indirectly conditioned to be anxious of going to the dentist?

Answer 3

1. Vicarious information

2. Media / social media

Question 4

Describe the cycle for onset of dental anxiety

Answer 4

• Fear / anxiety
• Avoidance of dental care
• Deterioration of dentition
• Feelings of guilt, shame and inferiority

Question 5

Describe the cycle for maintenance of dental anxiety

Answer 5

• Avoidance
• Poor oral health
• Repeated painful events
• Negative cognitions around dental stimuli

Question 6

What are 4 wider impacts of dental anxiety?

Answer 6

1. Emotional problems
2. Social anxiety
3. Poor self-image
4. Lower life satisfaction

Question 7

What is the difference between fear, anxiety and phobia?

Answer 7

• Fear and anxiety are often interchangeable

- Phobia is avoidance behaviour

Question 8

What is fear?

Answer 8

An individual’s emotional response to a perceived threat or danger

Question 9

What is anxiety?

Answer 9

Responses to situations in which the source of threat to the individual is ill-defined, ambiguous or not immediately present

Question 10

What is phobia?

Answer 10

Marked and persistent fear that is excessive or unreasonable, cued by the presence or anticipation of a specific object or situation

Question 11

What is dental fear?

Answer 11

• An emotional response to dental procedures signifying danger
• Embodies physiological and behavioural cues and negative cognitive appraisal

Question 12

What is dental anxiety?

Answer 12

Individual responds to dental procedures even when the threat is uncertain, vague or not immediately present

Question 13

What is dental phobia?

Answer 13

A marked and persistent fear of dental procedures resulting in an immediate anxiety response when in the dental environment

Question 14

What are 5 physiological cues of dental anxiety / fear / phobias?

Answer 14

1. Dizziness
2. Tremor / shaking
3. Headache
4. Perspiring excessively
5. Increased heart rate

Question 15

How does fear affect pain?

Answer 15

Lowers the pain threshold

Question 16

What 5 things may cause a patient to mistrust their dentist?

Answer 16

1. Hostile presentation
2. Complaints about previous dentist
3. Concern with competence of dentist
4. Impersonal treatment
5. Victimization

Question 17

What 4 things may present as a catastrophe in the dental clinic to a patient?

Answer 17

1. Fainting
2. Allergy
3. Misinterpretation of physical symptoms
4. Reactions to anaesthetic

Question 18

What is the goal of treatment planning?

Answer 18

Carry out the dental procedure

Question 19

What are the 2 pathways leading to goals of treatment planning?

Answer 19

1. Psychological

2. Pharmacological

Question 20

What are 3 possible aims of relaxation?

Answer 20

1. Preventive measure to protect the body organs involved in stress-related disease from unnecessary wear
2. Treatment to help relieve stress in certain physical conditions
3. Coping skill to calm the mind and allow thinking to become clearer and allow more easy access to positive information

Question 21

What are 2 types of relaxation?

Answer 21

1. Physical

2. Mental

Question 22

What is physical relaxation?

Answer 22

Release of tension in muscles and lengthening of muscle fibres

Question 23

What is mental relaxation?

Answer 23

Feeling relief of tension and strain

Question 24

Name 3 control techniques

Answer 24

1. Informational
2. Behavioural
3. Retrospective

Question 25

Name 2 forms of behavioural therapy

Answer 25

1. In vivo exposure | 2. In vitro exposure

Question 26

What is the difference between in vivo and in vitro exposure?

Answer 26

- In vivo exposure is grade an prolonged exposure to feared stimulus - In vitro exposure is exposure in the imagination as access to feared stimuli is not available

Question 27

Give 3 ways in which exposure therapy can be enhanced

Answer 27

- Exposure in vivo is more effective - Prolonged exposure is better than brief exposure - Frequently practiced exposure is more effective than long intervals between exposures

Question 28

What are 3 possible coping strategies?

Answer 28

1. Positive self-statements 2. Distraction 3. Cognitive restructuring

Question 29

What are 3 influences on choice of treatment mode?

Answer 29

1. Patient (knowledge / motivation) 2. Dentist (knowledge / skill) 3. Resources (cost / fees)

Question 30

What may be 2 specific problems with dental anxiety?

Answer 30

1. Needle / Blood phobia | 2. Gagging

Question 31

How may needle / blood phobia be tackled?

Answer 31

- Relaxation - Exposure - Applied tension for prevention

Question 32

How may gagging be tackled?

Answer 32

- Muscle relaxation | - Systematic desensitization