Kelly Osbourne fears the dentist

Model and televison presenter Kelly Osbourne recently announced a fear of the dentist on her Twitter page.

The daughter of Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne tweeted: “I have to go get my filling today and the fear is really really kicking in.

“I need to get over this fear of the dentist but I can’t!”

Kelly is not alone in having a dentist phobia. Other celebrities such as Robert De Niro have also avoided the dentist's chair.

Only recently, a survey carried out by the British Dental Health Foundation revealed that one in four people do not visit a dentist due to a dental phobia.

Chief Executive of the Foundation, Dr Nigel Carter, said: “Dentists recognise that many patients have this phobia, and therefore try to cater to that person’s needs. Our aim is to make regular dental check-ups an acceptable part of everyday life for everyone.”

If you suffer from a fear of the dentist, the dental charity suggests taking along a friend for moral support. They also suggest taking along an mp3 player so you can listen to music during any treatment.

Another tip to conquering a fear of the dentist is to take things one step at a time. Just having a check-up without treatment is a step in the right direction, they say.

Other possibilities for dental phobics include visiting a practice which specialises in treating nervous patients or agreeing with your dentist a signal that means stop during your treatment, so you can take breaks whenever necessary.

Dental phobias can mean different things to different people, said Dr Carter: “For some it can be a fear of needles which puts people off, or it could be feeling a lack of control during treatments.

"Whatever the cause though, there are ways to conquer it, and it is vital that people have regular check-ups.”

Dentists are able to identify many conditions including gum disease and mouth cancer, which kills one person every five hours in the UK.

With dental techniques improving massively over the last few years, treatments today can be completely painless.

Dr Carter said: “Years ago it would be likely that most patients would need a filling every time they visited their dentist, but things have changed for the better now.”

The survey was conducted as part of National Smile Month (May 16 – June 16). The Foundation’s key three messages during the campaign are:

• Brush your teeth twice a day with fluoride toothpaste
• Visit your dentist regularly
• Cut down on the frequency of sugary foods and drinks in your diet

This article was published on Tue 15 June 2010