STORY CONTINUES BELOW THESE SALTWIRE VIDEOS

Dental health is part of our complete overall health, but this can become a challenge when fear gets in the way of going to the dentist.

And this fear can be a very real thing – for both children and adults.

David Doyle is originally from London, England but now lives in Digby, N.S.

He realized he had a fear of the dentist when he was around seven or eight years old.

“It was the drill and not being able to get away. I can still smell and hear it now," he says.

Read more Sydney dentist helps put his patients at ease Behind the business: COVID challenges don’t affect passion for dentistry in Yarmouth office

Sydney dentist helps put his patients at ease

Behind the business: COVID challenges don’t affect passion for dentistry in Yarmouth office

Luckily, Doyle has been able to overcome his fear with the help of a understanding dentist.

“I had to be put asleep for some treatment, but I’ve recently been able to have fillings. I was referred to really good dentist in Bedford, Nova Scotia who is really understanding and talks you through what they are doing, which really helped me," he says.

Doyle recommends others who also have a fear of going to the dentist to “find an understanding dentist who is patient and will do the treatment in different stages so it is not so daunting.”

Dr. Brad Campbell graduated with a Doctor of Dental Surgery from Dalhousie University in 1998. In 2017, he received his board certifications for Craniofacial Pain and for Dental Sleep Medicine. Campbell’s dentistry company, Riverview Dental and TMJ & Sleep Therapy Centre of Prince Edward Island (a pain and sleep company) are both located in Charlottetown, P.E.I.

Campbell says the medical term for a fear of dentists is ‘dentophobia’.

"It can also be simply known as dental fear, dental anxiety, dentist phobia, odontophobia, or dentophobia. They all mean the same thing: an intense fear of visiting the dentist for dental care," he says.

“If it’s the fear of the unknown, then we can explain to patients to the degree that makes them more comfortable.”

“In most cases, people who experience dentophobia do so because of prior traumatic experiences at the dentist.”

Campbell says that there is some training in dental school for treating dentophobia patients, with techniques designed to make the experience as comfortable as possible.

“I believe in the pediatric specialty training that this is more focused on behaviour management and dealing with fear," he adds.

He explains that “if it’s the fear of the unknown, then we can explain to patients to the degree that makes them more comfortable.”

It might be assumed that it is children that mostly have this fear – but it frequently occurs with adults as well.

“It’s true, we mostly think of children when we think of dentophobia, but we also have adult patients quite frequently with different degrees of fear and anxiety towards treatment," he says.

"Just last week, I saw an adult in my office that may have been the most severe case of dental fear I have seen. Fortunately, we were able to treat him successfully."

Like with most skills that we develop and hone, dentists develop their own techniques to deal with fearful patients.

“There are some very basic and fundamental guidelines that need to be met," he says. "I believe, first and foremost, that the patient must have trust in the dentist. This trust is paramount for all patients, of course, but particularly with fearful patients.”

Campbell says he lives by the philosophy of “patients don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. So, developing a rapport is important.”

He also focuses on patient’s breathing.

“I find many, if not most, of the patients with anxiety are mouth breathers and often have difficulty breathing through their nose," he points out.

"If you think about having two to four hands in your mouth while you are trying to breathe through your mouth, it can make you feel anxious. So, there are times we offer a nasal spray and even use nasal dilators to help a patient breathe during their appointment.”

He says many people can’t verbalize this, but when identified, they can really relate.

The most common fear among all patients is, of course, the fear of pain and needles.

“This is where we hone our skills to be as painless as possible to make the experience as pleasant as possible," Campbell says.

"When you care, you will try your best to be painless and provide profound anesthesia for procedures requiring numbing. We can also use a pre-freezing gel prior to delivering the anesthesia and this can help mentally and physically.”

Campbell says a slow delivery of the anesthesia is also a technique that's important for comfort.

“If it’s jaw issues that cause the patient discomfort during the appointment, then managing that patient with breaks during the procedure, or cold laser treatment for the jaw joint and muscles can be used either before or after the appointment.”

Although it is not used often, some sedation options for patients are also available.

“We can use oral medication to calm patients. We also have nitrous oxide “laughing gas” for those patients needing that type of intervention.

Campbell also offers state-of-the-art technology that can do many fillings without freezing.

“It’s a CO2 laser called “Solea” and this is what I used on my most recent patient that was very needle phobic," he explains. "The patient has their restoration complete with zero numbing. It is amazing technology that has many applications.”

Although there are many techniques to help manage a patient’s fear, “I honestly believe a friendly caring team and environment is paramount," Campbell says.

“Fortunately, I am blessed with such a support team at my office. I love how much they care.”

One resource for parents to help their children with their fear of dentist visits comes in the form of a children’s book written by Charlottetown native Dr. Marlene Bryenton.

Bryenton is now retired after a 36-year career at Service Canada as an Employment and Insurance Officer. In 1998, she received the Order of PEI and in 2003, an Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree from the University of Prince Edward Island.

In 2020, she began another venture with the publication of the first in her series of children’s books.

In 2021, Bryenton’s The Magic Toothbrush book was published. Written to help dispel the fear of dentists for children, it instead makes it an adventure. It stresses the importance of dental appointments at an early age and encourages children to brush, floss and eat healthy food.

“This book definitely helps to open dialogue between parent and child. They can discuss their fears prior to a dental visit," she says.

The book was written for her two grandchildren, seven-year-old Anna and three-year-old James, who are also featured in the book.

“I knew they were fearful of a dental visit. This storybook has made the trip to the dentist fun," she says.

Her grandchildren’s trip to the dentist also resulted in some early edits to her manuscript.

“The two dentists, Dr. Brad Campbell and Dr. Magdalena Herrera, checked their teeth. Anna was startled when Dr. Campbell put the chair back. I had written in my storybook that the chair went up and down, but did not mention backward," Bryenton explains.

As a result, she went home and changed the text to reflect that.

"James twinged when the air and water syringe was used by Dr. Herrera. I had not mentioned that in the storybook either," Bryenton adds.

A little edit, and that was fixed.

Anna lost a tooth during the writing of the storybook.

"She knew that she would lose her teeth one by one but that she would get new teeth. The storybook also mentioned the Tooth Fairy, so she was anxious to see if the Tooth Fairy arrived," says Bryenton.

“Leanne Bowlan (the illustrator for all of Bryenton’s children’s books) and I did school tours before COVID hit and visited some classes from Kindergarten to Grade 4. The students have responded so positively to this storybook," Bryenton adds.

Sponsors made it possible for each child they visited during these school visits to have their own copy of The Magic Toothbrush. And Bryenton is not stopping there: “I would love to share this storybook with children all across Canada," she says.

The books can be purchased via Dr. Marlene Bryenton’s website, Amazon Kindle, iBooks, Rakuten Kobo, and Barnes & Noble.

Ensure local journalism stays in your community by purchasing a membership today.

The news and opinions you’ll love for only $14.99/month.

Start your Membership Now

Your home for the news shaping Canada's East Coast