Abstract
BackgroundA recent UK population survey of oral health included questions to assess dental anxiety to provide mean and prevalence estimates of this important psychological construct.MethodsA two-stage cluster sample was used for the survey across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. The survey took place between October-December 2009, and January-April 2010. All interviewers were trained on survey procedures. Within the 7,233 households sampled there were 13,509 adults who were asked to participate in the survey and 11,382 participated (84%).ResultsThe scale was reliable and showed some evidence of unidimensionality. Estimated proportion of participants with high dental anxiety (cut-off score = 19) was 11.6%. Percentiles and confidence intervals were presented and can be estimated for individual patients across various age ranges and gender using an on-line tool.ConclusionsThe largest reported data set on the MDAS from a representative UK sample was presented. The scale’s psychometrics is supportive for the routine assessment of patient dental anxiety to compare against a number of major demographic groups categorised by age and sex. Practitioners within the UK have a resource to estimate the rarity of a particular patient’s level of dental anxiety, with confidence intervals, when using the on-line percentile calculator.
Highlights
A recent UK population survey of oral health included questions to assess dental anxiety to provide mean and prevalence estimates of this important psychological construct
This paper takes the opportunity to report on this aspect of the Adult Dental Health Survey (ADHS), 2009 to provide population norms and percentiles for use by dentists
Sample and procedure A two-stage cluster sample was used for the survey comprising of 253 primary sampling units (PSU) across England and Wales, and a further 15 PSUs in Northern Ireland
Summary
A recent UK population survey of oral health included questions to assess dental anxiety to provide mean and prevalence estimates of this important psychological construct. In 2009 the fifth decennial national survey of the adult dental health in the United Kingdom was conducted. The first national UK survey took place in 1968. In the earlier surveys dental anxiety was assessed using single item questions [1,2] which did not allow reliable measurement. The Modified Dental Anxiety Scale (MDAS) was included as it had been shown to be a reliable and valid instrument within [3] and between countries [4]. This paper takes the opportunity to report on this aspect of the Adult Dental Health Survey (ADHS), 2009 to provide population norms and percentiles for use by dentists
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