A report by the British Dental Health Foundation has found that people rate going to the dentist as more frightening than snakes or spiders. The foundation carried out a survey about the different things that make people the most nervous from a long list of scary stuff, such as injections, flying, heights, spiders and snakes, with a visit to the dentist coming out second and heights coming first.
In fact, more than a fifth of respondents said going to the dentist was what made them most nervous. Snakes were found to be the fourth most scary thing, with spiders fifth. It was also revealed that 22 per cent of those questioned were made most nervous by going to their dentists, as compared with only 2 per cent of their doctor .
The survey highlighted the two main dental treatments that worried people, that of having a tooth drilled, which was admitted by 30 per cent, and having a local anaesthetic injection, which made 28 per cent of respondents very nervous.
Nigel Carter, chief executive of the British Dental Health Foundation, commented "Everyone in the profession knows that dental anxiety is a major barrier for many people to visit their dentist. What may prove concerning is just how poorly the profession rates in comparison to doctors."
He added "The comparison with snakes and spiders may appear frivolous, but it does suggest we still have a lot of work to do to build public confidence."
