Dental phobia can be referred to as dental fear, odontophobia, dentophobia, dentist phobia and dental anxiety. Psychologically, it’s a general fear of dentistry, sitting in a dental office or receiving dental care. Because a mild dislike of dental care can lead to anxiety, a person can come to avoid dental care altogether. And when the anxiety heightens to a point where it affects an individual’s decisions to maintain their own health, he or she may experience dental phobia.
Several factors can trigger heightened anxiety, and an individual can experience one or more of these factors simultaneously. Many of these stressors can be found in a dental office. These include the smells of dental compounds (especially strong-odored medicaments like eugenol and bleach), seeing dental instruments (especially needles and forceps) and hearing the tools of the dental office (such as the drill). Patients can associate these sensory responses to previous dental experiences, specifically if those experiences were negative and left a strong impression earlier in life.