Air date: September 6, 2009

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Original air-date: January 18, 2009.

Okay, so I want to try something a little different. I’ll play a sound and let’s see how it makes you feel. Ready? Here goes.

I’m sure I’m not alone in associating the sound of a dentist drill with fear and loathing. In fact, I think for most people, undergoing dental work, or even just the idea of it, rates somewhere on a scale between mildly unpleasant and utterly terrifying.

But, what about dentists? What do they make of the fear their trade inspires?

"Well, I think any dentist out there has had to approach this issue in their own way."

That’s David Lawler. He’s a dentist in Bloomington, Indiana, where he runs the Center for Dental Wellness. For David, dealing with patients’ anxieties is mainly about communication.

"It's important to us to understand what their past dental experiences have been like, what kind of fears or concerns they bring with them from their past experiences."

For example, one of David’s patients is a former Air Force pilot, a guy who wouldn’t bat an eye at landing a fighter jet at night in stormy seas.

"He walks into a dental office and starts sweating through his shirt. It turns out that he as a child was a patient of a dentist who was the male model for the painting American Gothic"

Yes, the stern, humorless guy brandishing a pitchfork, that was the pilot’s childhood dentist. And evidently not a very good one, because the poor guy was terrified of all things dental. But after a few dental therapy sessions with Dr. Lawler, he got over it.

There have been lots of developments in dentistry over the past few decades, better technology and new techniques to minimize pain and discomfort. But maybe the most important change is that dentists like David are more aware of their patients’ concerns, and so better able to calm their fears.

I’m Jeremy Shere

This Sound Medicine Checkup is underwritten by IUPUI, where impact is made on our students, our community, our health and our economy. More information at www.iupui.edu.

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