Dental fear is a general fear of dentistry and dental treatment. Statistics show that 75 percent of American adults have some degree of dental fear, ranging from mild to severe. About five to ten percent of American adults are considered to have dental fear; that is, they avoid going to the dentist at all costs because of their fear of dental treatment. Many people who are afraid of going to the dentist will wait until they have a dental emergency before going to the dentist. People who are very afraid of going to the dentist tend to go through an “avoidance cycle” where they avoid going to the dentist out of fear until they have a dental emergency that requires invasive treatment, which in turn reinforces their fear of dentistry. As a result, there is a clinical picture of “disastrous” oral health conditions. Dental fear is usually higher in women than in men, and in younger people than in older people. People usually report that they are more afraid of more invasive treatments, such as extractions and fillings, and less afraid of less invasive treatments, such as veneers and cleanings. There are many reasons for dental phobia, but many people report that their dental fear began with an invasive, difficult and/or painful dental experience. [However, a painful or traumatic dental experience alone cannot explain why people develop dental phobia. The attitude of the dentist in the eyes of the patient is an important variable. Studies have found that dentists who are perceived to be “impersonal,” “distracted,” “uncaring,” or “cold” Conversely, for some students, if they feel that their dentist is caring and warm, they will not have dental fear even if they have a painful experience. In addition, hearing about other people’s traumatic experiences or negative perceptions related to dentistry can also create dental fears. Dental phobia is generally treated by: behavioral therapy and medication to bring down the fear or anxiety and thus reduce the patient’s feeling of fear. Behavioral treatment is mainly achieved through relaxation techniques, and cognitive techniques. Relaxation techniques are achieved through changes in breathing patterns (chest to abdominal breathing) and progressive muscle relaxation; cognitive techniques are achieved through cognitive reconstruction and guided imagery. These two techniques have been shown to significantly reduce dental phobia. A behavioral technique is systemic desensitization, which is used in psychology to overcome phobias and other anxiety disorders. This approach is sometimes referred to as gradual exposure therapy or gradual exposure. For example, with a patient who is afraid of dental injections, the therapist first teaches relaxation techniques and then gradually introduces the patient to the thing he is afraid of (in this case, needles and/or syringes) and encourages the patient to use the previously taught relaxation techniques to manage his fears. In the progression, the patient first uses the relaxation technique when receiving a dental injection until he is only slightly or not at all afraid when receiving the injection. Listening to the patient is also a condition that reduces the patient’s anxiety. The patient’s idea of treatment may be quite different from the therapist’s, and gradual acceptance may be preferable to immediate acceptance for someone who has been fearful of dental visits for years. It has been documented that a dental phobia is corrected mainly through the availability of relevant health information, time and acceptance, health education and attitude of the dentist in receiving the patient, and the dentist understanding and listening to their concerns. The dentist’s approach is crucial to rebuilding the patient’s confidence, using non-threatening language and the “explain-show-do” method to praise the patient, explaining the procedure in easy-to-understand terms, and then showing the visual, auditory, olfactory and tactile aspects of the procedure in a non-threatening manner. The patient is then shown the visual, auditory, olfactory, and tactile aspects of the treatment in a non-threatening manner, and then the actual procedure is performed. Of course, patients with severe dental phobias require medications, usually sedatives or general anesthetics. Laughing gas” is commonly used to help patients feel calmer and sometimes drowsy during dental procedures, but the patient is still conscious and able to communicate with the dentist.