Can smell trigger a fear? No doubt that for those who loathe a visit to the dentist, the unique smell of a dentist’s office can trigger a feeling of panic. In fact, it is estimated that as many as 75 percent of U.S. adults experience some degree of “dental fear,” ranging from mild to severe.
The distinct smell hits you immediately upon entering a dental office. The odor can be attributed to everything happening all at once: grinding and drilling, the smell of fillings, fluoride treatments and whitening agents… all of it. Some offices even have a small lab right on-site, where various chemical compounds are used frequently, which only further adds to the odors.
To help mitigate an already stressful situation, it would be more calming to the patient to walk into the waiting room and to sit down in the dental chair without the chemical odor associated with the dental work being performed.
To combat the odor, some dental offices have implemented solutions that merely mask bad smells with chemically-derived fragrances, rather then fully eliminating them. This can cause allergic reactions such as headaches, nausea, or worse for some patients… not exactly calming.
Fortunately, there are eco-friendly solutions that effectively eliminate odors right from the source. Fresh Wave IAQ is the only line of commercial grade odor eliminating products for healthcare facilities and dental offices that are non-toxic, and effective on both organic and inorganic odors.
The “dental odor” is a smell unlike any other, and although it bears the distinction that your teeth are going to be well taken care of, it can trigger anything from apprehension to full-blown terror in many. Fortunately, solutions exist today to make dental work a much more pleasant experience.
