Brits too scared to return to dentists

28% of Brits say they will be reluctant to return to their dentist once the lockdown is lifted.

Carol Gerrard, 66 from Ellesmere Port, suffered from dental anxiety from a very young age, triggered by negative experiences at the dentist as a child. Her dental anxiety meant she would avoid treatment, leave practices prior appointments when it became too overwhelming and even travel all the way from Reading to Ellesmere Port for appointments with her childhood dentist when she moved away from home. She has only overcome her fear in the last few years with the help of an expert dentist.

Sue Walker, 58 from Chester, was left with dentophobia after a mishap with a routine root canal procedure, where her mouth wasn’t numbed fully. After this incident, Sue didn’t go to the dentist for 12 years, unless she had a real emergency, and had to leave the room if anyone started talking about dentistry or teeth as it would set off her anxiety. Sue had to go through months of therapy and work with an expert dentist to finally overcome her fear.

• 28% of Brits say they will be reluctant to return to their dentist once the lockdown is lifted
• 49% fear they will catch coronavirus from other patients
• 45% of Brits say they would not know who to contact if they had a dental emergency
• Some Brits have resorted to DIY dentistry at home during lockdown, with people going as far as cementing or supergluing on their crowns

Since lockdown began 41% of Brits have faced issues with their teeth, but with only 45% knowing who to contact there are concerns about the state of the nation’s teeth as we emerge from lockdown.

However, with dentists now starting to reopen, new research by Portman Dental Care has shown a third of Brits are still reluctant to see a dentist. With a shocking half of the nation fearing they might catch coronavirus from other patients in the practice.

Dental practices are one of the most sterile environments in the country, with temperature screening to cleansing mouthwashes in place, patients will notice significant differences to their usual dentist experience since COVID-19, all designed to minimise the risk of spreading the virus and keeping patients healthy and safe.

It is hoped that these measures will help ease the fears of the 28% who are reluctant to return to the dentist. Patients in London (44%) and those aged 18-34 (51%) are the most hesitant to return, while those in the East Midlands and Scotland are most likely to wait more than a year to return.

With half of the UK already scared of visiting the dentists, there are fears that coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated this issue for dentophobics, deterring them from coming back to the practice at all.