Overcoming Your Fear Of The Dentist's Drill: Understanding The Misnomer And What The Tool Really Does
Many people, including yourself, are afraid of the dentist's drill. Even if you have never had to have a cavity filled or major dental work performed, you may still have an unnatural fear of a dentist's drill because you do not know what it is or what it really does. The word "drill" is a bit of a misnomer, given that the dentist does not take the tool and pile-drive holes into your teeth with it. To overcome your fear and misunderstanding of this tool, you have to learn more about it and what it really does.
The Drill Does Not Actually "Drill"
In fact, you should think of a dentist's drill more along the lines of a mini-sanding tool. The "bits" on a dentist's drill are very tiny and are designed to gently sand or grind away the tooth. The bit rotates at a high velocity, which is the sound you hear when the drill is in use. The dentist does not use the drill to create holes, but rather he or she sands or grinds away the part of the tooth that needs to be filled or repaired. Once you realize that the drill really is not a drill, but a sander, then it is quite a bit less terrifying.
It Sounds Worse Than It Really Is
The actual sound of a drill on a tooth is louder than it seems because the vibrations it creates move into your inner ear and are translated as a really loud and echoic sound by the otic (ear) nerves. If you think of any loud sound as it gets stuck in a tunnel, e.g., a train horn, it always sounds much louder than it is because the noise cannot move outward through the air. Keeping this in mind should help you if the sound of the dentist's drill is what frightens you most.
If Knowledge and Reasoning Do Not Work
Now that you know more about a dentist's drill, it should be easier to get past your feelings of fear. Should knowledge and reasoning not be enough, many dentists now offer sedation dentistry as well. They can sedate you just enough to take the edge off being nervous, or you can request to be completely anesthetized. If you feel that "baby steps" toward fearless dental procedures is the only way to go for you, then start with the information provided above and a mild sedative prior to your next major dental procedure.
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