Why are people scared of the dentist?

Here are 10 reasons people are scared of the dentist

1.  Dental trauma as a child- people who experience bad oral hygiene as a child or needing dental treatment when they are young are 30% more likely to have a dental phobia
2. Embarrassment- many people are scared due to being ashamed of their oral hygiene or health and not wanting to reveal it
3. Show vulnerability- many people dislike showing that they are scared so choose not to go to the dentist and risk crying or panicking
4. Lack of control- many people dislike the feeling of helplessness and putting yourself in the hands of somebody else, a new innovation the 'dental button' lets patients press a button to stop a procedure
5. Sound of the dental surgery- the dentist often has a variety of unnatural sounds to be heard such as drilling , whirring of machines or even crying, this can be very disconcerting for a patient waiting to be seen
6. Fear of damage to the face- the face is a very personal and distinct part of the body and for many the idea of letting someone come close to it with sharp instruments or a drill is very scary
7. Fear of pain- sometimes dental appointments can cause pain for a patient if an issue is discovered, some people are so worried about this they avoid attending appointments
8. Needles- approximately 12% of UK adults have a fear of needles something that is commonly associated with dentists
9. Fear of the unknown- some children never attend a dental appointment through childhood for various reasons therefore the idea of attending a clinic you know nothing about seems unnatural and scary
10. The media- sadly like many common phobias the media have taken advantage of the fear and made many films featuring a demon dentist, this in turn subconsciously makes people scared and less likely to attend.