Ask people to make a list of the most dreaded activities, and they’ll be sure to have going to the dentist somewhere at the top. The truth is that many people are avoiding the dentist based on some childhood experience from long ago. Maybe it was an uncomfortable filling, drilling, or a cleaning, but either way people are not excited about going back. While technology has changed things, there are a lot of misconceptions that are still alive. The following are the top 3 most common misconceptions about dental visits.
Pain is necessary
That’s what going to the dentist has meant since the beginning of the profession so long ago. Within the past few decades, many procedures have been viewed as “barbaric” and painful. Even horror movies have made the dentist chair, or the dentist, the villain. The truth about dentists is nowhere near as awful as people like to imagine. That unfair reputation can be hard to shake, but with the technological advancements and training that doctors have has made it all completely untrue. With the proper pain management and prevention, there’s nothing to fear. People should fear what happens to their mouths when they avoid the dentist, which can actually be painful, and expensive.
X-rays are dangerous
There will probably always be a segment of the public that is weary of x-rays, because they believe they might be exposing their bodies to some harmful radiation. This type of skepticism may exist even more at the dentist office. Since the x-rays are directed straight to the mouth, to your teeth and gums, patients may think there is potentially more danger. What patients don’t realize is that they are exposed to just as much, if not more, radiation as they move throughout their daily activities. At the dentist’s office, it’s just one simple x-ray, as opposed to the daily continual exposure. X-rays actually reveal disease in teeth and gums.
Children don’t need dentists
Some parents use the logic that there is no need for a child to visit the dentist when they still have their baby teeth, because they’re going to fall out eventually anyway. The truth is, baby teeth that are diseased or infected need to be seen right away as well. People cannot leave a diseased tooth in the mouth of a child for years until it falls out naturally. Diseased gums and teeth can make the rest of the body sick. Not to mention, if a baby tooth is diseased, then the permanent tooth can be diseased too.
