[When the heart beats faster: negative expectations about dental treatment]

Many people expect dental treatment to be painful. This kind of expectation has important negative consequences for the patients' well-being. Disappointing occurrences during the treatment itself can further influence the expectations about a next treatment. The fact that the treatment result happens to be more positive than expected is a necessary instead of a sufficient condition for changing existing expectations. A cognitive model for dental fear is proposed and some implications for the general practice are discussed.