let's hear what the patients say

Gabriella, mother

- After having spent a difficult period, I finally overcame my fright of the dentist and solved my problem – and now my teeth are healthy! It was not easy anyway; nobody, not even my family, could understand why a woman who gave birth to three children could not face the idea of a dentistry intervention.

- At first I tried to evade the problem, using antibiotics and pain relievers; but it was immediately clear to me that that was no solution. One day, by chance, I read an article on a newspaper which dealt with odontophobia; the writer underlined the need to treat these cases with a psychological approach and an intervention in general anaesthesia.

- After reading the article I did not feel so lonely; I plucked up courage and went to a specially equipped centre. The meeting with the dentist has been unconventional; no visit on the chair I was so afraid of, but a simple conversation explaining me the techniques used for odontophobic patients. I understood that I had finally found the solution to my long lasting problem, in just one visit.

Andrea, manager

- If you consider my job and the pressure I have to face, you may not believe it; but yes, I am afraid of the dentist. Every time I had a visit, I felt like living a nightmare; I was scared of the typical smell of the dentist's surgery, not to talk of the noisy drill! Add to this the fact that, most of the times, the dentist had an attitude of reproach, telling me: “ I cannot believe that a person like you, so skilled and determined, is afraid of the dentist!!”

- For these reasons I stopped my dentistry visits, damaging my teeth and the health of my mouth. You do not understand how important your smile is until you lose it; you stop smiling out of shame, because you do not want to show ugly teeth. Your attitude towards other people changes, and for people who practise a profession like mine this can be a real problem.

- One day I told myself I had to find a solution to my problem; I started surfing the Internet, as I always do whenever I look for information – also because this is a way to retrieve such information remaining completely anonymous. I discovered SIOF and I asked them to help me finding a centre where I could overcome my fright and be cured; I then found out that the intervention would have been performed in general anaesthesia and that the length of the cure would have been greatly reduced.

Giuliano, journalist

- First of all I would like to thank this Association for allowing me a different approach to the dentistry visit; I belong to that group of persons who shiver at the idea of an intervention.

- The possibility of curing my teeth while sleeping seems a dream to me. The people I met are familiar with problems related with odontophobia; I did not have to explain my embarrassment, and they have shown me a quick solution.

- The fist step has been an interview, followed by the intervention in general anaesthesia. When I woke up the cure was over and I could start smiling again.