You are not alone in your terror. About 16% of the population is highly anxious about seeing a dentist and 4% avoid them entirely. When highly anxious people do see the dentist, they spend significantly longer in the dental chair, which prolongs their agony. Or else they go to the hospital and have dental work done under general anesthetic, an expensive, invasive procedure with some risks.

A recent study offers considerable hope for people who are highly anxious of dentists. People who had had a phobia of dentists for nearly two decades and with severe dental problems were treated in one of three ways. One group was given 1.5 hours of specialized psychological treatment, another group was given an anti-anxiety medication, and the third group, (the control group) was given no specific treatment.

The results of the interventions were remarkable. The people who received the specific psychological treatment reported much less fear, anxiety, and negative thoughts about dental treatment than the group given medication, or the group given no treatment. The differences were so marked that 95% of the people given psychological treatment had clinically significant improvement, whereas only 10% of the people in the other groups showed as much improvement.

The changes did not last for just a few days. Remarkably, these changes persisted for the duration of dental treatment, which usually took 7 months on end, over 11 treatments. Despite these many visits to the dentist, 70% of the people given psychological treatment completed all their dental treatment. Only 20% of the people given medication, and 10% of the people with no treatment, completed all the sessions of their dental treatment. The long-term effectiveness of psychological treatment is consistent with other research that found that 70% of the people treated by a psychologist continued to see their dentist for up to 4 years.

Even though people may have a serious dental phobia, lasting for nearly two decades, they can be very effectively helped by specific psychological treatment. Their fear, anxiety, and negative thoughts about dental work clearly diminishes, and most of them complete all their dental treatment in the next 6 months, and maintain their improvement for up to 4 years. So, no matter how strong your fear of dental work is, you may be significantly helped by a psychologist, without the use of medication.