Fear of Flying Could be Cured with a Simple Trip to the Dentist
One of the most common fears that people have is the fear of flying. There are hundreds of products and hypnosis techniques out there designed to help individuals feel at ease of flying, but there are just some people who still despite taking all these products are afraid to fly. A new discovery may just help these individuals who are resistant to other fear-reducing techniques.
"We were conducting a survey of individuals who were afraid to fly", said graduate student Tommy Southington. "We were looking to see if something in these people's childhood lead to the fear of planes or flying. We didn't come up with anything conclusive, but we did discover that there might be a cure."
Many of the people who expressed that they had a fear of flying, often said that they were more relaxed on a plane if they had just undergone a sedation dentistry treatment within the past week. Sedation dentistry often involves using a type of gas to sedate the patient and allow the dentist to conduct their exam.
"We are thinking that there might be something in the gas that stays in the system and calms people's fears up to a week later", said Southington. "Numerous individuals we interviewed all underwent dental procedures at the local sedation dentist and then went on a plane. All those people said they felt no fear of flying, which was unusual."
People have been searching for a way to cure their fear of flying for many years, as more and more people need to fly for business purposes or for vacations. Businesses have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars trying to come up with a cure for the fear of flying and this many just be the answer.
"The key is to time the dental procedure with when you need to fly", said Southington. "It can't be too close to when you fly, but if it's too far away you run the risk of it wearing off and then you'll be afraid to fly. So it's important to find the perfect balance."
The American Dentists Association has released a statement supporting this theory that it could help individuals who are afraid to fly. "We believe that this not only opens new doors for people, but that it encourages people to regularly visit the dentists", the statement read. "We hope people will take this seriously and consider seeing if it works for them."
