How can I get over my fear of going to the dentist?

Posted July 01, 2013, 2:00 am

I’m a rational person, but I have a deep fear of the dentist that I just can’t overcome. Any suggestions?

I don’t know too many people who enjoy a trip to the dentist. But the health of our teeth and gums are an important part of maintaining our dental and overall wellness. So we do it.

Some of my patients have such a fear of dentists that they avoid making dental appointments at all, or cancel appointments they do make. Almost to a person, they tell me they’ve “always” been afraid of dentists. Almost surely the fear began with a visit to the dentist — maybe their first — when they were a child.

Regardless of why you have this fear, there are several things you can try to get yourself into a dentist’s chair. Medications such as diazepam (Valium) and lorazepam (Ativan) may help reduce anxiety. But they are best used in combination with the following cognitive and behavioral strategies:

Breathing techniques. Physical tension and emotional stress can make pain feel worse. Deep breathing can counter physical and mental tension. Breathe in slowly and count to five. Then exhale to another count of five.Muscle relaxation. Progressive muscle relaxation involves tensing and then releasing one group of muscles at a time. It can help to slow heart rate and promote calmness. Just a few minutes of progressive muscle relaxation may help during an appointment.Desensitization. This approach combines deep breathing and relaxation with gradual exposure to the thing that triggers your fear. If you’re afraid of needles, for example, you may look at pictures of a dentist’s needle in a safe environment such as at home, while practicing relaxation and breathing techniques. The goal is to help you learn to relax while confronting a trigger of your fear.Distraction. Focusing your mind elsewhere is another way to lessen anxiety and pain. The more complicated the task, the better. Listening to music may help. But counting tiles on the ceiling or slats on a window blind may be even more effective.

I know that this all may sound silly. If you’re tilted back in a dental chair, and a person wearing a mask is approaching your molars with a drill, is counting the tiles on the ceiling really going to make you relax? Yes: A combination of multiple relaxation techniques really can help. I’ve seen it happen, repeatedly.

Relaxation techniques have been used by people in Asia for thousands of years. On occasion, true nonsense can be perpetuated for thousands of years, but usually things that have lasted that long have proven their value. Recent research at Harvard Medical School has even shown that relaxation techniques literally change body chemistry. They alter which genes are turned on and off. So consider this approach to your fear of the dentist. It really could work.

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Still going through Extreme Hunger?

Ok so I'm 13 years old fully weight restored from anorexia with a BMI of 21 and I've been eating 2000-2500 every day,but sometimes it feels like it just doesn't satisfy me.I get so hungry so fast after I eat to the point where I feel dizzy, I get a headache,blurry vision,or like I'm going to faint :( Is it normal for me to still feel this hungry all the time?I ate well over 3000 a few times last week.I can't tell if this is extreme hunger or a growth spurt.I've also heard that it could be diabetes??Anyone else who experienced this??

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Going Golfing? Shop Your Look on Puma's New StyleCaddie App

One doesn't usually think of women's golf as the most fashionable sport out there; for a long time, options for ladies on the links were limited and generic, at best. Recently, though, there's been an influx of hot female talent on the green -- and naturally, hot fashions followed suit. Several brands have been spearheading chic style on the golf course in recent years, and Puma's been at the helm. Now, the brand's released an awesome new app that fuses golf, fashion and technology -- the Puma StyleCaddie, out today for iOS and Android.

First and foremost, Puma Golf has an amazing Spring/Summer line of women's gear and apparel -- think ombre prints, henley sweaters, cute pastel polos and more. And now, to encourage mixing, matching, and (of course) social sharing, they've got this really fun app: Just select a female silhouette and dress it up, paper doll-style, with tops, bottoms, shoes and accessories. Change colors, rotate it 360 degrees -- you can even upload a photo of your own face for the model to "wear," then share your creations on Facebook and Twitter.

Prefer to shop pre-built outfits? The Lookbook tab will show you some of Puma Golf professionals Lexi Thompson and Blair O'Neal's favorite ensembles for everything from the driving range to post-match cocktails -- in patented Puma Golf performance fabrics warmCELL, coolCELL, dryCELL, windCELL and stormCELL. Because once we dress like them, we're bound to swing like them, too ... right?

Downloading the free #PumaStyleCaddy app? Tweet us your creations at @amandaemac and @SELFmagazine!

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Image Credit: Courtesy of Puma

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advice,im scared that of going to starve myself again.

Hey everyone,i had a brief history of undereating,and now i feel like im over-eating,even though i exercise,i feel so bad about what i ate today,can u please tell me ur opinion on the amount i ate:1 cup of oats with 100ml lowfat yoghurt and a tsp of peanut butter;a cheese sandwich with cheese&100%tomatoe sauce and grated carrot(half cup);1 cup of cornflakes with a tsp of peanut butter,2 tblespoons of beetroot with mayo;another sandwich with peanut butter and low fat margarine;moderate bowl of pasta and chicken strips with baked bean gravy.i do 15-20 minutes cardio,just started weight training(5mins)and im 5,1 female,17 years old.

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How to keep going

Well, I'm 15 and I used to be a fatty. This year with some routine changes (taking the bus and walking instead of being driven by my folks for instance). I've been able to reach my weight goal. But I easily fall of the wagon. Since I bake a lot (I'm trying to establish a cake design company) and I loove cereal, I am very often distracted from my regime and start eating a lot more than I should. 

I'm normal weight, barely (BMI=19), but this is how i feel comfortable, because, for the first time i dont feel fatter than everyone else around me. But the problem is the following: Every time someone tells me i'm so thinner than I used to be, I start eating like a maniac and I only stop when I climb up the scale and I'm 4-5 pounds heavier. I really do want to stop yo-yo dieting, but everyone's reaction to my weight loss is preventing me from doing that. How can I stop it? How can I get more self control?

  It might also be relevant for you out there willing to help me that I'm a 19.0 (out of 20) average student so I'm very demanding about myself, I also play an instrument, have dance classes 2-3 times/week and go to the gym 1h/week. Oh, and I also see a nutricionist twice a month.

Can someone guide me through this?

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what is going on?

so i just logged in my work hours i have a active job i work four hour **** and in our reasturant we have stairs that i go up and down from the whole time im usually sweating enough to wear i have to go wipe my face i logged it and it says that i burn 1004 calories from work and i also workout on my own and burn 400 which means i burn 1404 calories i only eat 1200 so im in the negative that doesnt make much sense to me because 1004 calories seems a little to high a estimate for what im burning at work but i mean i do sweat a lot at work and those stairs are no joke so now im confused do i need to eat more then 1200? i think going over is a little to high even though ever since i started working and working out i have been a little more hungry and craving bananas and peanut butter like crazy any ideas? 

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Everyday Activities May Have Same Health Benefits as Going to Gym

By Robert Preidt

HealthDay Reporter

SUNDAY, Feb. 10 (HealthDay News) -- Short stretches of physical activity -- such as taking the stairs or raking leaves -- throughout the day can be just as beneficial as a trip to the gym, according to a new study.

Researchers looked at more than 6,000 American adults and found that this "active lifestyle approach" appeared to be as effective as structured exercise in providing health benefits such as preventing high blood pressure, high cholesterol and the group of risk factors known as metabolic syndrome that increases the risk for coronary artery disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes.

"Our results suggest that engaging in an active lifestyle approach, compared to a structured exercise approach, may be just as beneficial in improving various health outcomes," study author Paul Loprinzi said in an Oregon State University news release. "We encourage people to seek out opportunities to be active when the choice is available. For example, rather than sitting while talking on the phone, use this opportunity to get in some activity by pacing around while talking."

Loprinzi was a doctoral student at Oregon State University when he conducted the study. He is now an assistant professor of exercise science at Bellarmine University in Louisville, Ky.

The researchers also found that 43 percent of adults who did short bouts of exercise met the federal physical activity guidelines of 30 minutes a day, compared with less than 10 percent of those who did longer exercise sessions.

"You hear that less than 10 percent of Americans exercise and it gives the perception that people are lazy," study co-author Brad Cardinal, a professor of exercise and sports science at Oregon State, said in the news release. "Our research shows that more than 40 percent of adults achieved the exercise guidelines, by making movement a way of life."

The study was published in the January/February issue of the American Journal of Health Promotion.

Many people say they don't get enough exercise due to lack of time. These findings are promising in that they show that simply incorporating movement into everyday activities can provide health benefits, Cardinal said.

"This is a more natural way to exercise -- just to walk more and move around a bit more," he noted. "We are designed by nature as beings who are supposed to move. People get it in their minds: 'If I don't get that 30 minutes, I might as well not exercise at all.' Our results really challenge that perception and give people meaningful, realistic options for meeting the physical activity guidelines."

More information

The U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute offers a guide to physical activity.

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