If’ you’re a fearful flyer (and it’s likely that you are considering you’re reading this post), which would you pick:
- Door #1, Having a Root Canal?
- or Door #2, Flying on an Airplane?
If you picked the root canal, this is your lucky week! March 29 to April 4 is National Root Canal Awareness Week, and you are just one representative of people surveyed who said they would rather endure the trauma of a root canal than board a plane. And you’re not alone.
According to a press release that details a recent survey by the American Association of Endodontists, 57% of those surveyed are afraid to fly on an airplane during a storm compared to the 54% who fear having a root canal. The fearful flyer group doesn’t win by many votes though. But fear of flying outnumbers fear of public speaking. Only 42% of those surveyed feared speaking in public.
Notice that the survey qualified flying by combining it with flying through a storm. That implies turbulence to most people. According to a survey on FearlessFlight.com, 40% of the 5500 people who responded fear turbulence.
It’s interesting because the National Root Canal Awareness Week’s purpose is to dispel long-standing myths and lessen anxiety about the feared dental procedure. Gee…this is exactly what we do for fearful flyers! We educate them about flying and help to lessen anxiety through coping strategies.
According to the press release, 80% of American adults fear the dentist. According to the survey, flying is a dreaded event for many. Maybe we need to have a National Fear of Flying Awareness Week. Who wants to be our poster child?
