Effects of Dental Fear and Anxiety - Essay Example

"Effects of Dental Fear and Anxiety" is a wonderful example of a paper on dental care. Dental fear and anxiety are common problems for many patients today. There are cases where the doctors have confirmed that this fear and anxiety make the patients' treatment and recovery very difficult. Besides, fear and anxiety among these patients have also led to delays in the appointments, causing more problems to the oral and dental care that the patients should receive during their treatment (Goetemms et al., 2014). Despite the introduction of modern facilities and the development of sophisticated care, dental anxiety and fear are still a problem for many patients in the dental area. Therefore, dental fear and anxiety may affect the patients by complicating the dental treatment, delaying the appointments, and causing low dental attendance.
Fear and Unwillingness towards Dental Check-Ups and Treatment

Many people are rarely willing to take part in dental checkups and treatment. Goettems et al. note in their study that when they contacted people to participate in the survey, seventy-six people refused to attend due to several reasons. The leading cause of fear is terrible oral and dental habits, including smoking, alcohol consumption, biting nails, and lack of proper teeth brushing (Goetemms et al., 2014). They thus fear that such studies are likely to expose their dental problems, which would lead to dental appointments and treatment. This same fear also makes many people not visit dental hospitals or have dental checkups. Another major cause of anxiety is the possibility of tooth extraction, which is very painful and challenging (Yakar et al., 2019). Therefore, the fear of dental checkups and procedures is considered among the vital factors affecting dental treatment, causing dental fear and anxiety.

Education Levels
Educational levels are also a significant cause of dental fear and anxiety. Many people with lower education levels are likely to exhibit higher levels of dental fear and stress since they lack the necessary knowledge of dental care. According to Yakar et al., those without primary education reported more top cases of dental fear and anxiety. Most of them are ignorant and do not know the importance of medical checkups, making them rarely have or honor dental appointments. Those who are educated, on the other hand, are more informed on the dental issues making them organize and honor attend dental checkups and treatments (Yakar et al., 2019). Civic education and creating awareness on dental health will thus play a significant in doing eradicating dental fear and anxiety hence reducing dental and oral issues.

Occupation and income. Occupation and income levels also have significant effects on dental fear and anxiety. Dental checkups and treatments are expensive, making some people, especially with low incomes, unable to afford them. It is thus common to find people who are willing to go for dental checkups and treatments not doing so since they cannot afford the costs of the procedures. Yakar et al. noted in their studies that those with insufficient incomes reported a high percentage of those with dental fear and anxiety. Achieving dental healthcare thus calls for ensuring the costs of dental treatments are affordable. Measures such as subsidies and free dental checkups and medications are given to those unable to meet the expenses to reduce dental fear and anxiety.

Age and gender. Age and gender were also found to be great determinants of dental fear and anxiety. More women are likely to have dental phobia and stress due to their lower income levels and busy schedules as compared to men. Most women also claim they cannot bear the pain of tooth extraction and treatment (Goetemms et al., 2014). Many parents rarely take their children for dental checkups and treatment, making them likely casualties of dental fear and anxiety. Gender and age significantly escalate the effects of dental fear and anxiety, therefore, making it necessary to address equality concerns to ensure the disparities the gender and age disparities causing dental fear and anxiety are eradicated.

Dental fear and anxiety are significant hindrances to achieving dental and oral healthcare. Many people are unwilling or fear to organize and participating in dental checkups and treatments due to several factors. Poor dental behavior such as smoking, the pain of teeth extraction and dental treatment, low education levels, and ignorance, and other sociodemographic factors like age, gender, occupation, and income levels are other factors that escalate the effects of dental fear and anxiety. Even with several measures such as improved technology, which helps make dental procedures less painful and effective dental awareness, the problem of dental fear and anxiety still exists, making its effects escalate. It is thus, essential to put up more measures to arrest dental fear and anxiety. More studies on dental fear and anxiety focused on the causes, effects, and mitigation solutions necessary to address the concern. Before and without the measures and further studies not put in place, dental fear and anxiety will continue to affect many patients.