Iran Medical Council Journal of Iranian Medical Council 2645-338X 9 4 2026 10 01 Don’t be Afraid of me, I’m Just a Dentist!! 1024 1026 252460 http://dx.doi.org/10.18502/jimc.v9i4.22473 EN Hamed Mortazavi Department of Oral Medicine, School of Dentistry, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Samaneh Khanehmasjedi Department of Oral Medicine, School of Dentistry, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Journal Article 2025 07 27 <strong>Dear editor </strong><br>Fear, while evolutionarily beneficial, becomes detrimental when disproportionate to actual threats. Dental phobia, recognized by WHO as a disease, affects global oral health with dental fear prevalence at 36% and extreme cases at 12%. Dental anxiety is more common among youth and females, with childhood prevalence reaching 25%. Contributing factors include past negative experiences, family modeling, loss of control, pain, and specific dental stimuli. This leads to treatment avoidance in 39% of moderate-to-high fear patients, potentially causing broader health consequences including obesity and cardiovascular disease. Treatment approaches include cognitive behavioral therapy, relaxation techniques, hypnotherapy, desensitization, and in severe cases, sedation or general anesthesia. https://www.jimc.ir/article_252460_a2b3cb64a8ddb0979d80239398c85425.pdf