Fear of the chair : an honors thesis (HONRS 499)

Abstract

This thesis is a study about what causes dental phobia and what dentists are doing to effectively work with patients who have dental fears. There are many different explanations as to why one acquires a phobia and in the first part of the thesis, I examine these psychological methods as well as the different techniques and treatments being developed in order to treat such phobias. Ultimately, finding a supportive dentist is a necessary and vital component to overcome dental fears. Thus, for the second part of the thesis, I sought to find out the attributes that a dentist must acquire to become successful in empathizing with patient fears with a research project surveying the opinions and experiences of practicing dentists in the Muncie and Anderson area.