Does your heart race when you think about going to the dentist? Do you find yourself putting off making routine cleaning appointments? If so, you might have dental phobia. While many adults don’t enjoy going to the dentist, there is a small percentage who deal with actual dental phobia — a strong fear of going to the dentist. One problem …

Do you feel nervous in the dental chair? You might be surprised to know that approximately 20% of people have some dental anxiety, and that for a small percentage, perhaps 8%, their fear is enough to keep them out of the dental chair altogether, unless there is a real dental emergency. Avoiding the dentist can lead to bigger problems, of course, and …