Not Great Grandma’s Days in the Dentist’s Chair

Have you ever taken a look at what dentistry used to look like? Have you ever inquired of an elderly person what they thought of the dentist when they were kids? Ever delved into your ancestry to find photos of a hundred years ago where no one is smiling and asked an elderly person why no one ever smiled? Resoundingly, the answers are related to what terrible tooth issues people lived with in past centuries. Today’s dentistry is nothing short of miraculous in comparison.

The trend in dental science today involves less invasive ways of practicing dentistry, yielding both higher levels of patient comfort and safety. White coat syndrome isn’t strictly related to general medicine. Anxiety over dental visits isn’t something that is experienced only by children. It is a very real part of life for some people and certainly nothing to be ashamed of.  According to Wikipedia, an estimated 75% of Americans have some degree of dental phobia. Root causes can come from past experiences, vicarious  experiences (stories of other people’s experiences), mass media and even cartoons can lead people to a fear of dentistry.

But take heart in this, in the world of dental innovation we are light years from the days of past centuries where a trip to the dentist was most certainly a trip to fear and was often a last ditch effort to fix a problem. Dentistry has changed dramatically and now offers treatments that are much less invasive and are patient-centric. We take great care in helping patients through their anxieties and on their way to a healthy smile.

See Wiki entry here.