Dentists More Scary Than Snakes And Spiders, UK

Main Category: Dentistry
Also Included In: Anxiety / Stress
Article Date: 20 Apr 2011 - 3:00 PDT


It's not good news for Dentists as the latest piece of research by the British Dental Health Foundation suggests that visiting the dentist makes people more nervous than snakes or spiders (1). The research echoes last month's Adult Dental Health Survey (2) which revealed half of adults - especially women - were classified as having moderate to extreme dental anxiety.

The Foundation asked 1,004 people - in the lead up to National Smile Month 2011 - what made them most nervous from a list including heights, flying, injections, doctors, snakes, spiders, going to hospital and visiting the dentist. Over one in five people rated visiting their dentist as the thing that made them most nervous - more than any other category. Overall, statistically, heights topped the poll of biggest fears, closely followed by visiting the dentist and going to the hospital. Snakes were rated fourth and spiders came fifth.

In comparison to Doctors, Dentists also struggled. The Foundation discovered that nearly 10 times as many people (22 per cent) were made most nervous by their dentists, compared to their doctor (two per cent). The Adult Dental Health Survey points to two dental treatments in particular as the main cause of these nerves: three out of ten (30 per cent) adults said that having a tooth drilled would make them very or extremely anxious. A similar number (28 per cent) of people reported equivalent levels of anxiety about having a local anaesthetic injection.

Dr Nigel Carter, Chief Executive of the British Dental Health Foundation, said: "Everyone in the profession knows that dental anxiety is a major barrier for many people to visit their dentist. What may prove concerning is just how poorly the profession rates in comparison to doctors. The comparison with snakes and spiders may appear frivolous, but it does suggest we still have a lot of work to do to build public confidence.

"The issue of anxiety affects everyone in the profession. Collectively we need to work together and we hope that the whole profession will get behind this year's National Smile Month campaign which starts on the 15 May 2011. The campaign offers the best opportunity for everyone to reach millions of people whose nerves and anxiety are directly affecting their oral health."

Notes:

1. National Smile Month Survey 2011: Nervousness

Question: Which of the Following Makes You Most nervous?

	Dentist	Heights	Doctor	Spiders	Hospital	Snakes	Injections	Flying
Total	1004	1004	1004	1004	1004	1004	1004	1004
1	220	191	25	117	86	156	73	63
2	132	156	46	138	164	169	110	50
3	126	133	100	105	184	139	113	74
4	118	123	134	108	165	120	149	67
5	90	111	170	117	162	105	137	91
6	112	92	179	120	128	117	131	111
7	89	106	182	135	70	103	179	129
8	95	78	136	128	38	79	99	328
9	22	14	32	36	7	16	13	91
Base for stats	1004	1004	1004	1004	1004	1004	1004	1004
Mean Score	4.02	3.98	5.50	4.72	4.04	4.10	4.84	6.10
Rank	2	1	7	5	3	4	6	8

Source: British Dental Health Foundation. Sample Size: 1,004.

2. Adult Dental Health Survey 2009, the Health and Social Care Information Centre. Published March 2011.

Source:
British Dental Health Foundation

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