Scared of the Dentist?How Common Dental Fear Is and What Helps

If the night before a dental appointment feels unbearable, or you’ve cancelled more than once, you’re in a large group. Fear of the dentist is common, and it’s treatable.

How common it is

A 2021 review pooled 31 studies of 72,577 adults:¹

Level of dental fear	Share of adults
Any	About 15%, roughly 1 in 71
High	About 12%1
Severe	About 3%1

Rates were higher in women and younger adults at every level.¹ Most studies had a high risk of bias, so the exact numbers are rough.¹ The authors noted that fear affects how people use dental care and the health of their mouths.¹

What the trials say helps

A 2024 review gathered 173 randomized trials of ways to ease dental anxiety in adults.² It split them by goal:

Goal	What had support
Long-standing dental anxiety	CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy, a structured talking therapy), moderate certainty2
Dental phobia	Talking therapy, CBT in particular, low to moderate certainty2
Nerves during oral surgery	Hypnosis (moderate certainty) and sedative pills (low certainty)2

The evidence didn’t support virtual reality, music, aromatherapy, information videos or acupuncture for calming nerves in the chair.² The authors concluded that dental anxieties are manageable and treatable.²

So if one calming trick didn’t work for you, that fits the trials. It doesn’t mean you can’t be helped.

What CBT looked like at one clinic

A specialist unit in London reviewed 130 people referred for CBT for dental phobia; 99 were women, average age about 40.³

• Injections and the drill were the most feared parts.³
• 79% went on to have dental treatment without sedation, and 6% with sedation.³
• It took five CBT sessions on average to get there.³
• About 37% also had high general anxiety, and 12% had significant depression.³

This was one clinic’s records with no comparison group, so it shows what’s possible more than how likely.

Steps you can take

1. Say it when you book. Tell the practice you’re anxious, and again in the chair.
2. Agree on a stop signal, like a raised hand, and ask to be told what’s coming before it happens.
3. Ask about sedation for a necessary procedure while you work on the fear; see IV sedation and gas and air sedation.
4. If fear has kept you away for years, ask your doctor or dentist about CBT for dental phobia.

If worry about your breath is part of what keeps you away, see bad breath others can’t smell.

Try: “I haven’t been to a dentist in four years because I’m frightened of injections. Can we start with just a check-up, agree on a stop signal, and talk about whether CBT or sedation would help?”

Is It My Breath? covers this in Chapter 3, “Too Embarrassing to Mention?,” in a section called “If the Dentist’s Chair Scares You,” followed by “What to Say at the Appointment,” which gives word-for-word scripts for the booking call and the chair, starting with telling the team you’re nervous. See the book.