The Difference Between Anxiety, Fear and Phobia

A distinction has been made between dental anxiety, dental fear, and dental phobia.

• DENTAL ANXIETY is a reaction to an UNKNOWN danger. Anxiety is extremely common, and most people experience some degree of dental anxiety especially if they’re about to have something done which they’ve never experienced before. Basically, it’s a fear of the unknown.
• DENTAL FEAR is a reaction to a known danger (”I know what the dentist is going to do, been there, done that - I’m scared!!”), which involves a fight-or-flight response when confronted with the threatening stimulus.
• DENTAL PHOBIA is basically the same as fear, only much stronger (”I know what happens when I go to the dentist - there’s no way I’m going back if I can help it. I’m so terrified I feel sick”). Also, the fight-or-flight response occurs when just thinking about or being reminded of the threatening situation. Someone with a dental phobia will avoid dental care at all costs until either a physical problem or the psychological burden of the phobia becomes overwhelming.