Mariam Olayode: Why Nigerians Are Scared of Visiting The Dentist

A girl had been managing her pain for weeks. She took painkillers in the morning and more at night, yet her jaw throbbed every time she tried to eat. It was clear that she needed to have her tooth extracted. However, when someone finally convinced her to visit the clinic, she sat in the waiting room, became increasingly anxious and left before her name was called.

Why? Because someone had told her that once a dentist removes one tooth, the problem moves to the other teeth and the removal cycle continues, until there is nothing left. As a licensed Dental Surgery Assistant, I have seen this happen so many times, and it is one of the reasons I became passionate about dental education. Due to a lack of knowledge around oral health, I have watched Nigerians endure months of pain because of fear or hearsay. We need to honestly talk about it.

The Myth That Keeps People Away

Let us start with the tooth extraction because it is everywhere. The belief that removing one tooth triggers a domino effect, that your remaining teeth will loosen, shift or fall out, is one of the most common things I hear from patients. It is not true. However, an untreated problem can eventually cause neighbouring teeth to shift over time, which is exactly why dentists recommend replacing extracted teeth. The extraction itself does not cause this. Leaving a painful, infected tooth untreated for months because of fear causes far more damage.

Myths like this are powerful because they come from people we trust, mothers, aunties, neighbours and they feel more real than anything a dentist in a white coat might say. So people stay home and manage the pain.

Perhaps one of the things that instruct fears in people is walking into a dental clinic and seeing trays of heavy metal instruments can be alarming. But dental professionals are…