[Dental Issues] Anxiety after a failed cosmetic surgery? It could be body dysmorphic disorder!
Some patients are dissatisfied with the treatment results after completing dental or plastic surgery procedures, feeling that the results are unnatural and constantly asking what's wrong. This situation may be related to body dysmorphic disorder.
Body dysmorphia, also known as appearance anxiety disorder, is a mental illness. Patients excessively focus on and worry about their appearance or certain parts of their body, obsessively dwelling on, exaggerating, or imagining things they are unhappy with about their body, and spending a great deal of time repeatedly trying to change what they perceive as flaws.
If communication with such patients fails, it can lead to doctor-patient conflicts at best, and suicide or emotional distress at worst. Whether in Hong Kong or Taiwan, I have personally heard of patients who committed suicide after doctors I know performed jaw reduction or cosmetic surgery.
It is especially important for dentists or plastic surgeons to identify these types of patients. Even after successful treatment, they may feel that the treatment went wrong, and the change in appearance may actually exacerbate the patient's anxiety. Once a doctor treats such a patient, the patient will only perceive the problem as the doctor's fault, rather than "I (the patient)" having a mental illness. Therefore, it is advisable to avoid treating patients with this symptom whenever possible.
Take one of my patients last week as an example. His natural teeth were perfectly smooth, but he kept saying they were sharp and scratched his tongue, making him very uncomfortable. Even after we almost ground his teeth down to a "ball," he still said they were "scratching." I told him it was a psychological issue, but he felt like I was insulting him or making fun of him.
If you have family or friends who are experiencing anxiety or that their appearance is affecting their daily lives, you should advise them to seek psychiatric treatment and psychological counseling. Alternatively, if you feel that treatment by a dentist or plastic surgeon has been ineffective, try to relax first, accept reality, and recognize the risks of further treatment before attempting remedial procedures.
In addition, choosing an experienced doctor to begin the initial treatment is also very important. Experienced doctors encounter different patients and situations on a daily basis, and in addition to their technical skills, they also know how to manage patients' expectations and emotions regarding the treatment outcome.
Author: Dr. Chen Haoxian
