A dentist must have good clinical skills but equally as important is how they can deal with nervous patients. Patients who are phobic have poorer oral health and we know that oral health has a significant impact on the quality of life, appearance, and self-esteem of a person. Firstly, identify these patients. The dentist must …
Gestalt psychology is a school of thought that looks at the human mind and behavior as a whole. When trying to make sense of the world around us, Gestalt psychology suggests that we do not simply focus on every small component. Have you ever noticed how a series of flashing lights often appear to be moving, but …
Dementia describes a group of symptoms that cause the gradual decline of the brain’s function. It occurs therefore when different diseases affect the brain and cause symptoms of dementia. Although it most often occurs as you get older, it is not a normal part of ageing. Some of the most common types of dementia conditions …
Resin bonded adhesive bridges have been around for a long time. They were initially designed as temporary solutions for young patients who had a missing front anterior tooth. For these young patients, it was usually caused by an accident such as falling in the playground or a sports injury known as avulsion. Sometimes an anterior …
A periodontal endodontic lesion is known as a “perio-endo” lesion. They can be of different sources in relation to either the pulp or the PDL ( the periodontal ligament). On a radiograph, a perio-endo lesion shows up as radiolucency at the apex and traveling up all the way to the CEJ ( the cement enamel …
Hans found stress as a physiological coping mechanism due to a fixed event. Negative stimulus results in the body responding physiologically such as an increased heart rate, mobilization of glucose into the bloodstream, release of adrenaline and more rapid breathing. Although Richard Lazarus, he researched this further and described it as a more dynamic process. He …
Dental fear and anxiety are often used interchangeably however there is a distinct difference between the two. Anxiety is part of the normal response to everyday events. However, it is harmful if anxiety occurs excessively over a long time. Anxiety always precedes the actual encounter. The actual encounter may be real or it may be imagined. Anxiety …
Dentistry is generally considered both within the profession and outside of the profession as a very stressful occupation. What is stress and why do we consider it nowadays? There are various definitions of what stress is and here is one accepted definition. Stress can be defined as an imbalance between an actual or perceived stimulus …
Anxiety is a normal, protective physiological response to an unpleasant or threatening situation. Anxiety makes you take action and mild to moderate anxiety even improves performance and ensures appropriate action is taken. However, excessive or prolonged anxiety is not good as it is disabling and distressing, causing physical symptoms to appear causing illness. The term …
Dentists are quite good at recognising patients who are nervous even when they try to hide their anxiety. Patient try to their anxiety but there will be certain physical signs that will give the game away quite easily. So here are some of the physical traits that patients exhibit which indicates that they are anxious …