by Jim Gatton

Does just the thought of going to the dentist make you nauseous? Does the idea of having someone scraping your teeth send chills up and down your spine? Do you start getting upset months before your next scheduled dental checkup?

If you can say yes to one or more of these than truly you are living in misery.

Maybe it would help to realize that you are not alone in your fear. While you may be an unfortunate part of the extreme it is also true that almost everyone has a certain degree of fear associated with going to the dentist.

It is a more common experience then dentist would have you believe. So, please draw some strength from the knowledge that you are not alone in your fear. You just need to find some way to lessen the degree of fear of dentistry that you experience.

remember that whenever we are coping with any kind of situation that brings fear into our lives that frequently the fear of the unknown makes everything a hundred times worse for you. That's why one of the most important things that you can do along the path of controlling your fear of dentistry is to get more knowledge.

It will help if you have a better understanding of what the dentist is going to do, how he is going to do it, and yes, how long it will take him to do it. Knowledge helps conquer fear.

Along with gaining additional knowledge is being practical with your self in a different area of this problem. Although the following will not work for everyone you may find that it will help you if you try to be logical with your self and deal with the consequences of not wanting to the dentist because of your fear.

We both know that sooner or later you will wind up in the dentist chair if only to have a problem tooth extracted. So one tip is to stress the logic of going to the dentist anyway.

You should also call with your dentist and ask for an appointment to just come in and sit down with him for a 15 or 30 minutes and just get to know him or her as a person. Talk to them about your fears and how they make you feel.

Frequently just establishing a more personal relationship with your dentist accomplishes a tremendous amount in minimizing your fear.

Another thing for you to consider is to take a friend or family member with you to your appointments. There truly is strength in numbers and it really does help to have someone encourage you and keep you calm.

Both strength and comfort of friendship helps us to get through many things including our fear of going to the dentist. You might even consider taking this one step further and asking permission from the dentist to have your friend come back in the examination room with you while the dentist works when your teeth.

Again, this is a fairly regular procedure.

Whether you use one or all of the suggestions above or find yet another route to use to conquer your fear of dentistry the most important thing to do is to make sure that you do something about it. You do not have to be paralyzed by your fear.

While you may never reach the point that going to the dentist becomes fun on the other hand it is perfectly rational and logical to expect that you will be able to control your fear. You really can learn to manage your fear so that it does not control and ruin your quality of life.

You have much to gain by learning to take control of your fear of dentistry. Having healthy teeth and an attractive smile will no doubt improve the quality of your life.

You will also have much less stress and fear experienced in your life and we know that that is always a plus. Please remember that you do not have to eliminate fear of dentistry in your life in order to be healthier all you have to do is learn how to control it enough so that you can deal with your next visit to the dentist.

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Tags: yoga, exercise, personal Development