Treatment of Dental Phobia

• dental psychology by Anne Koerber, DDS, PhD, 6/12/97
  
  

I have long been fascinated by the treatment of dental phobics - not because of the treatment itself, but because of the difficulty getting patients to come in for treatment at all. On a number of occasions I have tried to run research studies on treatment for dental phobia, but no matter how much I publicize the program, I simply cannot get patients to come for treatment (even if free of charge!) I have treated just about every other type of phobia and do not seem to have trouble getting patients to come in, but this one has me stumped!

I know there have been some good outcome studies published (which could be located by a quick Medlines search), so clearly someone knows how to get people to come in for treatment. Is my experience of total reluctance to come in for treatment just a fluke? Any ideas of what makes this population different from other phobics? Any suggestions for how to get patients to come for treatment? I have tried in several different cities, in private practice, dental clinics, dental schools, etc. with no luck at all.

• &lllaos;Treatment of Dental Phobia&lllaos; by Ms. Patti Piper, 9/13/97
  • Is tx for dental phobia a waste? by Barbara Fleming, Ph.D., 9/21/97