Many people don't visit their dentist regularly enough

Not everyone is comfortable visiting the dentist, whether it’s a bad experience from childhood, or just the thought of having treatment that puts you off. Either way, many people don’t visit their dentist regularly enough and the inevitable result is poor oral health.

Working out where the problem lies can often help you overcome your fear, and the British Dental Health Foundation is offering the following information for anyone suffering from dental phobia.

• One in ten people are estimated to suffer from extreme dental anxiety.

• Women are more likely to suffer from extreme dental anxiety than men.

• The most common fears for visiting a dentist are having a tooth drilled (30 per cent) and having a local anaesthetic injection (28 per cent)

• You are not born with a fear of the dentist. You develop it so therefore you can overcome it.

• Exposure to the sights and surroundings of the dental practice, as a child will help avoid dental anxiety in adulthood.

• Modern dentistry has evolved to such an extent that it can be almost pain-free.

• Some practices specialise in treating nervous patients. It is worth asking to find your nearest practice.

• Relaxation and sedation techniques have been proven in helping to overcome dental phobia.

• Around 56 per cent of the population have visited an NHS dentist in the past two years.

• Around 2 per cent of the population have never visited a dentist.