Fear of surgery is not the only fear based on medical procedures that can be harmful to the health of those who experience it; fear of dental work can also be dangerous if taken to an extreme. Dental fear has been ranked fifth among the most common fears. (DeJongh, Morris, Schoemakers, & Ter Horst, 1995) Those who start with dental fear when they are young and continue with it into adulthood can have total avoidance of all dental work, causing problems for their health. Fear of dental care is often diagnosed using a fear measurement instrument like Corah's Dental Anxiety Scale or the Modified Dental Anxiety Scale.
