There is hope for people who are afraid of going to the dentist. New research says counselling can help to overcome the fear of the dentist. The research from King's College in London focused on the effects of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) in treating dental phobia. The biggest fears patients have are of pain-relieving injections and the dentist's drill. Doctors believe that up to ten sessions of CBT can result in stress-free visits to the dentist and cure this phobia.

Over 10 per cent of people have anxiety about the dentist. This stops them from going for treatment. This means more dental problems, so the treatment will be more painful. Three per cent of patients in the research thought about suicide rather than seeing a dentist. The lead researcher said: "The primary goal of our CBT service is to enable patients to receive dental treatment without the need for sedation."