Anxiety of dental treatment among patients visiting primary health centers

Abstract

Background: Despite the advances in technology, dental materials, and increased oral health awareness, significant percentage of people suffer from dental anxiety. Dental anxiety is ranked fourth among common fears and ninth among intense fears. Aim: The aim was to assess the level of anxiety of dental treatment among patients in primary health centers (PHCs). Materials and Methods: The sample was made up of 100 patients from both genders over 18 years of age visiting PHCs for dental treatment, who were not suffering from any psychological limitation, between August and September 2017. Data collection was carried out through the administration of validated questionnaires by a calibrated researcher. A self-administered prevalidated questionnaire was used to evaluate the level of anxiety among the patients. The Modified Dental Anxiety Scale was used to evaluate the degree of anxiety among study participants. SPSS 21 was used, and data were analyzed using Chi-square test. Results: The prevalence of dental anxiety among study participants was found to be 94%. Females were found to be significantly more anxious than males. Higher level of anxiety was found to be exhibited by participants for injection (55%), followed by scaling (45%) and tooth drilling (40%). Relative influence of age, education, occupation, type of dental treatment, and previous dental visit were not significantly associated with dental anxiety. However, those participants who had past negative dental experience were found to be significantly more anxious. Conclusion: The study showed that dental anxiety was high among the participants. High level of anxiety was found to be exhibited by participants for injection, followed by scaling and tooth drilling. Level of anxiety is significantly associated with past traumatic dental experience, gender (higher level of anxiety was found to be among women), and low-income group (0–10 K) per month.