According to Wiki, dentist fear is associated with anxiety or a phobia. This phobia had traditionally been defined as both irrational and exaggerated. But, some studies have shown that this is not the case.

While controversy exists with whether dental fear is "irrational", as it is seen to be most commonly caused by previous bad experiences, there are subtypes of dental phobia. For example "fear of dentists" versus "fear of specific dental procedures" and needle phobia are considered subtypes of dental phobia. And not at all irrational.

With dentistry's many advances, diagnosis and treatment gets more sophisticated and comfortable all the time and some of us may be worrying unnecessarily. But, if you do have anxiety, below are some suggestions on techniques to use to overcome dental anxiety.

• Share your anxiety - speak to the dentist and the dental staff. Getting your concerns out in the open will help your dentist adapt the treatment to your needs.
   

• Try to choose a time for your dental visit when you're less likely to be rushed or under pressure. For some people, that may be a Saturday or an early morning appointment.
   

• If the sound of the drill bothers you, bring a portable audio player and headset so you can listen to your favorite music. As you listen to the music, try visualizing yourself relaxing on a warm beach or boat.

There were also two good sites that I reviewed on the topic relating to dentist fears:

One is the site of Dr. Terry Gotthelf. Dr. Gotthelf believes that traditional dental care should include opportunities for healing. She has developed a six-step program to help patients who fear going to the dentist. Her approach incorporates the mind-body concept where physical well being can be affected by mental and emotional states.

The other site is the Dental Phobia Treatment Center. This site offers help on identifying specific dental phobia. It then provides concrete, hands-on tips and suggestions for handling dental phobia.

There are several relatively good resources on the market in the form of books, audio and video tapes to help with combating dentist fear. For instance, the Anxiety and Panic Attacks resource allows you to learn a powerful, yet common sense approach to ending anxiety and panic attacks using a technique known as the One Move™. The Conquer Stress, Depression and Anxiety book is designed to help you understand precisely why stress, depression and anxiety rob you of the motivation to do even the most simple tasks. It offers one amazingly simple, natural technique to quickly overcome this problem. The SelfSteps Program offers a whole new approach to beating chronic anxiety, panic attacks and depression naturally. Learn the THREE CORE FOUNDATIONS of every human being that must be in balance to live an anxiety and depression free life.

If you are more of a visual or audio learner, the EasyCalm Video Coaching Series offers a anxiety and panic attack coaching series in a downloadable Video format. You can view all 27 minutes of the entire first session from the Easycalm Video Series on their website. Try before you buy! For children, there is the unique, research-bases series of CDs developed by Mimi Lupon, , M.A., L.S.S.P., L.P.C. entitled OLD ME NEW ME. This program was designed to help reduce emotional and behavioral problems as well as negative thinking and feelings in children. An easy to use program, it teaches new behaviors and emotional responses to life’s difficult situations. This program consists of short stories that teaches more appropriate ways to handle stress, soothing sound effects, music and positive self talk. It is especially effective for those who have experienced trauma or severe negative experiences of any kind including post traumatic stress. A new CD, Swimming with the Dolphins is for children of divorce and can be downloaded or purchased separately. Dr. Lendell Braud, a professor of Psychology conducted a study using Old Me New Me with a number of young victims of Katrina who experienced post traumatic stress. Results showed a number of positive benefits from the use of this program with these youngsters over a 12-15 week period. These benefits included a decrease in anxiety, physiological stress and worry, a reduction of concentration problems and depression. Parents reported their children were less physically and verbally aggressive, less impulsive and hyperactive and showed fewer signs of frustration.

Take a moment to review the information on these sites. It may be worth your time if you are suffering from dental phobia.