Table 3 Typology of dentist avoidance characteristics
| Â | How is the avoidance attitude identified? | What are the main reasons for avoidance? | Avoidance mechanism |
|---|---|---|---|
Avoiding the dentist due to distance (A) | Targeted displacement and distancing from dental care | Personal negligence | Avoidance and displacement |
Avoiding the dentist due to negligence (subtype A1) | Repression of avoidance problems | Own lack of motivation and suppression of existing problems in certain stages of life or by treatment processes of a particular stage of life | Negligence leads directly to insufficient oral hygiene, which in turn leads to more disruptive dental treatments; this leads to the reinforcement of avoidance and negligence |
Repression of confrontation with avoidance attitudes and consequences | |||
Dental avoidance due to neutralization (subtype A2) | Use of statements to explain the absence and neutralisation of possible reasons for avoidance | Own discussion of multicausal factors | Listing of avoidance causes to explain abstinence and distancing oneself from responsibility |
Avoiding the dentist due to disappointment (B) | Questioning the dentist and his intentions | Perceived lack of dental advice and care | The difficulty to trust fuels the avoidance mindset |
The feeling of being a means to an end | Distrust, helplessness, disappointment | ||
feeling that the monetary approach takes precedence over the humanitarian approach | |||
Avoiding the dentist due to shame (C) | A deep sense of shame | Own shame and concern about condemnation | Avoiding confrontation with one's shame by avoidance |
Avoiding the dentist due to fear (D) | Anxiety attitude up to mental and physical complaints | Fear of the dentist and dental treatments | Fear outweighs the importance of going to the dentist |
Fear of not respecting the fear attitude |