Scared to Visit a Dentist – FAQ’s on When and Why to Visit a Dentist
Q 1. What is the most common dental problem you face in your clinic?
Ans – The most common problem is lack of awareness about dental problems in general population and careless attitude of patients towards their dental health.
Q 2. When should one visit a dental clinic?
Ans – If you have never gone to a dentist in your life, today will be a good day to visit. Don’t wait for your dental pain to become unbearable before visiting a dental clinic.
Q 3. But why should I visit a dental clinic, if I do not have any dental problem or pain?
Ans – Majority of us (including myself) will have some or the other dental needs, we are just not aware of it. For example, deposits on your teeth (Plaque or calculus) which are never painful in nature but lead to gum problems.
Q 4. How many people suffer from these gums problems or dental problem?
Ans – On an average in India, it is approximately 50% to 60%. That means every second individual has a dental or a gum problem which needs some professional help.
Q 5. The biggest reason I don’t visit my dentist is my fear or phobia of pain from dental treatment.
Ans – You are correct. It is one of the biggest challenges we as Dentists also face on daily basis. But I would like to convey, dental treatment is not always a painful experience. With proper techniques, materials and enough experience we can provide a relatively painless experience. Though in some cases there might be some challenge to block the pain completely. The biggest reason for that is delaying the treatment in the first place. When the infection or the problem has increased to certain level, it is obviously going to take more time and efforts to rectify it.
The earlier we can spot the problem, the smaller will be the treatment time, discomfort as well as charges.
Q 6. Which brings us to the high charges for dental treatment and the disparity of the treatment charges in various clinics in my area.
Ans – The charges will mainly depend upon a few factors like;
- The kind of problem and treatment to be performed for it.
- Dentist – his/her qualification and experience.
- Dental clinic – if it has the latest apparatus and right equipment for providing the best treatment following the international standards of sterilization protocols.
- The laboratory with which the clinic is associated. If it is the best laboratory or one of the best of our country, it will charge extra for the highest standard of material used and the quality of the work provided.
It’s a skill job, with the same material but without expertise the standard of work gets compromised.
So basically, as of now it is not possible to standardize the charges of all the dental treatments as every dentist will have their different level of practice. Better clinic, materials and equipments will ensure a hygienic environment and best level dental care.
Q 7. What do you have to say for milk teeth? Do I need to get them treated (if needed) as they will be replaced by permanent teeth eventually?
Ans – Milk teeth or deciduous teeth spend less time in our mouth but that does not make them less important than our permanent teeth. Their size is small but they have a huge responsibility for the first 10-12 building years of a child for its role in better eating habits, digestion, speech development and nourishment. One should always get their kids to visit a dental clinic in the early years to educate them of healthy oral hygiene habits (as they are missing from our education system). You will be surprised to see these healthy habits becoming a daily routine for them.
Q 8. So, if I get the advised dental treatment done, what is the guarantee that I will never face the same problem ever again in my life?
Ans – There is no guarantee for the success of any particular treatment. Every treatment has a success and a failure rate. There is no doubt that it is the doctor’s responsibility to give the best possible care to all the patients, but the ultimate success of any given treatment will also depend upon how the body responds to it.
Doctor treats, nature heals.