Individual changes in dental fear among children and parents: A longitudinal study

Abstract

Objective. The aim was to study longitudinal changes in dental fear among children and one of their parents separately for girls, boys, mothers and fathers over a 3.5-year period. Materials and methods. 11–12-year-old children in Pori, Finland (n = 1691) and one of their parents were invited to participate in this longitudinal study. Dental fear was measured in 2001, 2003 and 2005 when the children were 11–12, 13–14 and 15–16-years-old, respectively. The participants were asked if they were afraid of dental care (1 = ‘not afraid’, 2 = ‘slightly afraid’, 3 = ‘afraid to some degree’, 4 = ‘quite afraid’, 5 = ‘very afraid’ and 6 = ‘I don’t know’). The participants’ gender was also registered. Mean values of the change scores were studied. Prevalence and incidence of dental fear and changes in dichotomized dental fear (responses 4–5 = high dental fear and responses 1–3 = low dental fear) were studied using cross-tabulations and Cochran’s Q test. Results. Overall, the prevalence of dental fear slightly increased and female preponderance in dental fear became more evident during the follow-up. Of the mothers and children with high dental fear at the baseline, 24% and 56%, respectively, reported not to be fearful at the end of the follow-up. Conclusions. Dental fear seems to be more stable in adulthood than in childhood. Thus, it might be better to intervene in dental fear during childhood rather than during adulthood.