Dental Anxiety Questionnaire Research Articles

The Role of Family Factors in the Development of Dental Anxiety in Children.

Background and Objectives: In the literature, the influence of parents who suffer from dental anxiety and a previous unpleasant experience at the dentist are cited as the two most common causes of dental anxiety in children. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between socioeconomic factors and the development of dental anxiety in children aged 9 to 12 years. Materials and Methods: A total of 131 children and their accompanying parents/guardians participated in the cross-sectional study. The children were divided into an experimental group, which visited a specialised office for paediatric and preventive dentistry for the examination, and a control group, which visited a primary care dental office. During the visit, the children completed questionnaires on dental anxiety (CFSS-DS). Parents completed a socioeconomic questionnaire and a dental anxiety questionnaire for adults (CDAS). Results: The results showed a statistically significant positive predictor: parental dental anxiety as measured by the CDAS. In addition, the t-test showed that children who visited a specialised dental office did not show a statistically significant increase in dental anxiety compared to children who visited a primary care dental office. Conclusions: With this study, we confirm the influence of parental dental anxiety on the development of dental anxiety in children. The socioeconomic status of the family and the type of dental office do not play a statistically significant role in the development of dental anxiety in children.

Psychometric and cytomorphometric analysis of dental phobia in pediatric patients: Association between anxiety and cellular structure

ABSTRACT Background: Children frequently experience negative feelings, such as dental fear or anxiety, as a result of the stress of receiving dental care. Extremely anxious individuals resist therapy or completely avoid it, which exacerbates oral and other health issues. Aim: The goal of this study was to examine the cytomorphometric responses toward dental interventions and their potential interplay with psychometric indices of anxiety levels and previous dental experience, specifically anesthesia, and how they varied before and after the treatment in children. Materials and Methods: On informed consent, buccal mucosal samples were obtained from 20 children (33% males and females 67%) in the pediatric dentistry clinic before treatment and immediately posttreatment. Dental anxiety was assessed through specific questionnaires (Modified Child Dental Anxiety Scale faces version) completed by the children. Results: On the cellular level: Cellular diameter (CD), nuclear diameter (ND), nuclear area (NA), and cellular area (CA) were assessed (Magnus Pro software and hematoxylin and eosin staining) while scores from the questionnaire established anxiety levels. Compared to pretreatment, mean CD, CA, and NA were decreased following treatment, while ND was higher at the recall. Dental anxiety questionnaire scores were also significantly correlated with each other which turned out to be positive. Conclusion: As a result, in response to environmental inputs, mitochondrial cells dynamically alter in terms of morphology and functionality. Chronic structural and functional variation in mitochondria can result in functional adjustments which were correlated by cytomorphometric and psychological investigation.

Psychometric Assessment of the Romanian Version of the Index of Dental Anxiety and Fear (IDAF-4C+).

The goal of this study was to assess the validity of the Romanian version of the Index of Dental Anxiety and Fear (IDAF-4C+) questionnaire. This study was conducted on a convenience sample of past patients and their acquaintances through an online questionnaire administered on the Google Forms platform between May 2021 and September 2022. The sections of the survey were demographic characteristics, the dental anxiety scale questionnaire, the IDAF-4C+ questionnaire, a single question about dental fear, and previous dental treatments. In total, 239 participants were included in the study, and the mean age was 37. The IDAF-4C questionnaire had good internal validity (Cronbach alpha was 0.945). The IDAF-4C had good convergent validity, and it was positively correlated with the dental anxiety scale (r = 0.825, p < 0.001) and the question about the fear of going to the dentist (r = 0.738, p < 0.001). The questionnaire had good reliability, and the intraclass correlation was 0.985. Lower levels of dental anxiety were associated with scaling, orthodontic treatment, and dental implants. A confirmatory factor analysis was conducted after the removal of the first question from the phobia module, and residual covariance was added between items four and nine of the stimulus module, showing a good fit for the retained questions of the IDAF-4C+, grouped by module. The Romanian version of the IDAF-4C+ showed acceptable psychometric properties.

The effectiveness of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy on cognitive regulation of emotion and perceived stress in women with dental anxiety

Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy on cognitive regulation of emotion and perceived stress in women with dental anxiety. Method: The research method is semi-experimental pre-test and post-test with a control group. The study population included all women with dental anxiety in Tehran who were selected by available sampling method and randomly assigned to two groups (15 people) experimental group and (15 people) control group. The experimental group underwent 8 sessions of 90 minutes of cognitive therapy based on the mindfulness of Segal et al. (2004). The research instruments were Stouthard, Mellenbergh, &amp; Hoogstraten (1993) Dental Anxiety Questionnaire, Garnefski, Kraaij, &amp; Spinhoven (2001) Cognitive Emotion Regulation, and Cohen et al. (1983) Perceived Stress. The results were analyzed using repeated measures analysis of variance and SPSS.22 software. Results: It showed that mindfulness-based cognitive therapy treatment had a significant effect on increasing cognitive regulation of emotion (F=51.53, P&lt;0.001) and decreasing perceived stress (F=15.25, P&lt;0.001) in women with dental anxiety. Conclusion: It can be concluded that mindfulness-based cognitive therapy was effective on cognitive regulation of emotion and perceived stress in women with dental anxiety.

Assessment of Anxiety in Dental Practice among Dental Students of Himachal Pradesh: A Cross-sectional Study

Abstract Background: The demand of excellence and proficiency among professionals is a threat to vocational well-being. The anxiety inherited by dental students is reflected through poor physical and psychological health, loss of interest leading absenteeism, and substance abuse with decreased clinical skills and competencies. Aim: To assess the anxiety in dental practice among dental students of Himachal Pradesh. Methods: The sources of data during this cross-sectional were the dental students studying in one government and four private dental colleges of Himachal Pradesh (India). The information included were demographic details and Dental Anxiety Questionnaire adapted from a previous study. The Dental Anxiety Questionnaire consisted of 37 questions with six anxiety-related constructs of academic (6 items), communication (4 items), investigation (7 items), diagnosis (4 items), treatment (8 items), and deficiencies (8 items). Each item was scored on four-point Likert scale and scores of 38–74 were considered mild anxiety, 75–111 moderate anxiety, and 112–148 severe anxiety. Results: The mean anxiety total score was 83.89 ± 17.49 and within the six constructs, deficiencies and error in treatment-related anxiety showed the highest and communication and health team-related anxiety showed the lowest mean anxiety total scores. The floor and ceiling effect was reported to be 2.53% and the individual item to the total item correlation was above the recommended accepted level of 0.3 for majority of items which indicated good content validity for the scale used. The Cronbach’s alpha was found to be 0.89 (unstandardized), which suggested the good internal consistency. Conclusion: Understanding the various types of anxiety related to dental students in the clinical dental practice is essential in the process of designing and evaluation of an effective and integrated dental curriculum. The dental curriculum should be well oriented in achieving a desired optimal anxiety for better academic excellence and clinical success of the dental students.

A study protocol for a single-centred randomized trial to investigate the effect of pre-treatment communication methods on dental anxiety among adult dental patients.

Optimal oral health is an essential component of good quality of life. However, this may be hindered by dental anxiety (DA), thereby, affecting the utilization of dental services. DA could be alleviated by pre-treatment information; however, the method of delivering this information is yet to be explored. It is, therefore, necessary to assess the modes of presenting pre-treatment information to ascertain the one with significant effect on DA. This will improve treatment outcomes and quality of life for individuals. Hence, the primary objective is to assess the effect of audiovisual and written forms of pre-treatment information on DA, while the secondary objective will compare the subjective and objective methods of assessing DA with psychometric anxiety scale (Index of Dental Anxiety and Fear (IDAF)-4C+) and salivary alpha-amylase respectively. Single-centred, single-blind, parallel-group, four-arm randomized clinical trial. The study will compare the effects of audiovisual and written forms of pre-treatment information on DA among adults. Patients 18 years and above scheduled for dental treatment will be screened for eligibility. Written informed consent will be sought before participation. Participants will be allocated randomly using block randomization, to the groups; G1: audiovisual and G2: a written form of pre-treatment information. At the visit, participants will complete the DA questionnaires (IDAF-4C+, Modified Dental Anxiety Scale and Visual Analogue Scale). Physiological anxiety-related changes of salivary alpha-amylase will be measured using a point-of-care kit (iPro oral fluid collector) at baseline, and 10 min after intervention. Furthermore, blood pressure will be taken at baseline and 20 min into the treatment. The mean changes of physiologic anxiety levels and 95% confidence intervals will be compared between the methods of pre-treatment information. This study hopes to establish pre-treatment information as a method for reducing DA among the populace. Also, to assess the relationship between questionnaire-based and physiologic methods of assessing DA.

The Relationship between Parenting Style and Dental Anxiety in 4-6 Years Old Children

Introduction: Control on children`s dental anxiety is one of the important &amp; effective factor predicting treatment success. Personality factors &amp; parenting style can be very effective in children`s dental anxiety. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between parenting styles and child`s dental anxiety and behavior in dental setting.&#x0D; Materials &amp; Methods: This is a descriptive study done a sample of 126 children aged 4-6 years old and their parents participated in this study in the year 2020. Sampling method was nonrandom and simple. MCDASf questionnaire was used to measure children`s dental anxiety and Bumrind questionnaire was used for scores of parenting styles. Data were analyzed by Pearson Correlation, Spearman Correlation, and chi-square tests.&#x0D; Results: A significant relationship between the score of authoritative parenting style in parents and pediatric dental anxiety (p value = 0.803, r = 0.022). However, a significant inverse relationship was observed between the score of authoritarian parenting style in parents and children's dental anxiety (p value &lt; 0.001, r = -0.307). Also, a direct and significant relationship was observed between the score of permissive parenting style in parents and children's dental anxiety (p value &lt; 0.001, r = 0.318).&#x0D; Conclusion: Dental anxiety and behavior in children is associated with parenting style.

Dental Anxiety and Phobia among Medical and Dental Undergraduates in Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM): A Cross-sectional Study

Objective: To assess the prevalence of dental anxiety and phobia among Malaysian medical and dental undergraduates of 2019. Materials and Methods: A validated Index of Dental Anxiety and Fear Scale (IDAF-4C+) questionnaires were distributed to medical and dental undergraduates in UiTM Sungai Buloh (n=460) via stratified random sampling. Demographic characteristics data were also collected. A cut point of 2.5 in average score for dental anxiety and fear (IDAF-4C) module was set to indicate the presence of dental anxiety. Descriptive statistics was used to determine the prevalence at while Pearson’s correlation was used to check its correlation towards related dental stimuli. The association of sociodemographic factors towards dental anxiety and fear were evaluated by logistic regression. Results: This study found that medical undergraduates reported higher prevalence of dental fear (25.6%) as compared to dental undergraduates (18.9%). The highest stimuli correlated to dental anxiety and fear is ‘feeling sick, queasy or disgusted’ (r=0.537) followed by ‘not being in control of what is happening’ (r=0.484). Having unpleasant dental experience rose the likelihood of dental anxiety and fear by four times. Those from high-income family has 51.7% lower likelihood of dental anxiety and fear versus to those from low-income family. Conclusion: We conclude that dental anxiety is relatively prevalent even among medical and dental undergraduates in Malaysia. Feeling sick, queasy and disgusted are found to be the most correlated stimulus among medical undergraduates.

Assessment of Anxiety Associated with the Dental Treatments on the Quality of Life: An Original Research.

Background:Patients around the world when attending the dental clinic are prone to undergo the feelings of fear and anxiety. This may impact the dental follow-up and prognosis.Aim:The aim of the study is to evaluate the dental anxiety in the patients attending for the dental treatment in a college, in India.Materials and Methods:A sample of 500 adults with ages 15–60 years was considered for the study. Modified dental anxiety questionnaire was used in the present study to assess the anxiety faced by the patients attending for the dental treatment. ANOVA and Chi-square test were used to test for the significance between the variables, and the correlation between these variables was assessed using the Spearman's correlation. Likert scale was used to know the cutoff for the severity of the dental anxiety.Results:Only in the 4% of the participants in the present study had dental anxiety. Gender, age, financial status, education impacted the dental anxiety and the regularity toward the appointments.Conclusion:It can be concluded from our study that there was a low anxiety in the dental patients toward the dental treatment and also anxiety decreased with the age. However, regular dental visits are advised to prevent the overall impact of the oral health on the general health.

The extent and nature of dental anxiety in Australians experiencing homelessness.

High dental anxiety is a major barrier to accessing dental care and has been found to be experienced to a greater extent in the homeless population. No studies have investigated the extent and nature of dental anxiety in Australians experiencing homelessness and was the aim of this study. Participants were recruited from four not-for-profit organisations in inner Brisbane using convenience and snowball sampling. The Dental Anxiety Questionnaire (DAQ) and the Index of Dental Anxiety and Fear (IDAF-4C+ ) questionnaire and oral health screening were completed by people experiencing homelessness in Brisbane, Australia, and compared to population norms. Descriptive statistics were calculated, and non-overlapping confidence intervals considered significantly different. The majority of the participants (n=66) were male, a current smoker, unemployed and living in government supported housing. Most of the participants rated their oral health as poor/fair (n=46, 71.9%) and their oral function as good or higher (n=34, 53.1%). Using the single-item DAQ, 28.2% (n=19) of people experiencing homelessness had high dental anxiety, compared to 16% of the general Australian population. The mean summed IDAF-4C+ fear module score was 18.02 (CI 15.60-20.43), which was significantly higher than the Australian population (µ=14.40, CI 13.93-14.86). The highest mean score in the IDAF-4C+ stimulus module was feeling embarrassed or ashamed as anxiety inducing (µ=2.27, CI 1.89-2.64) and was significantly different from the general Australian population (µ=1.40, CI 1.33-1.47). The poorer overall self-rated oral health by the homeless population may induce feelings of embarrassment or shame, highlighting the differing psychosocial aspect to dental anxiety experienced by this population. Managing dental anxiety is needed to improve accessing to dental care for this population. Multidisciplinary care from social workers, mental health workers and dental practitioners may be beneficial in managing fear.

How to evaluate adolescents’ dental anxiety? A review of instruments

How to evaluate adolescents’ dental anxiety? A review of instruments

Translation and validation of the Revised Dental Beliefs Survey (DBS-R) in China

ABSTRACT Patient perceptions of behaviours and attitudes of dentists are associated with dental fear and poor dental attendance in Western countries. However, there is a paucity of research exploring patient perceptions of the dentist in China. One reason for this may be the lack of a valid and reliable scale in Chinese (Standard Mandarin) to measure this. This study aimed to translate the Revised Dental Beliefs Survey (DBS-R) into Chinese and then explore the reliability and validity of this measure (both the short and longer versions) in a Chinese population. We translated the DBS-R using the forwards-backwards method and pilot tested it on a small sample of adults in China. Following this, 480 Chinese adults completed the newly translated scale, as well as well as a standardised dental anxiety questionnaire (the Modified Dental Anxiety Scale Chinese version) to test convergent validity. 109 participants completed the DBS-R again 2 weeks later for test-retest reliability. Both versions of the Chinese DBS-R were internally consistent and demonstrated convergent validity; test-retest reliability was also good. Both versions of the scale performed similarly, but for now we would suggest the 28-item version may be superior as items relating to the technical competence of the dentist appear important to Chinese adults.

Influence of lavender oil inhalation on vital signs and anxiety: A randomized clinical trial

ObjectiveTo investigate the effectiveness of lavender oil (Lavandula angustifolia Mill) inhalation on anxiety, mood, and vital signs (blood pressure, respiratory rate, heart rate, and saturation) of patients undergoing oral surgery. Vital signs were considered as primary outcome measures. Paired anxiety tests were used as secondary outcome measures. MethodsPatients who had dental anxiety according to the Dental Anxiety Questionnaire (DAQ) were enrolled in the study. One hundred twenty-six patients who were undergoing wisdom tooth removal under local anaesthesia were randomly assigned to the lavender oil and control groups. Paired anxiety tests (Modified Dental Anxiety Scale and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory–State Scale were performed. Vital signs were noted pre-, intra-, and post-operatively. Visual analogue scale (VAS) results were assessed. The patients' degree of satisfaction was noted. ResultsPre-operative anxiety levels were similar in both groups. Significant changes in blood pressure were observed in the lavender oil group post-operatively (p < .05). Most (79.4%) of the patients in the lavender oil group enjoyed the scent, 89.68% were satisfied with their experience, and 97.62% of the patients stated that they would prefer the same protocol when needed. ConclusionInhalation of lavender oil, which is one of the most powerful anxiolytic essential oils, reduces peri-operative anxiety and can be prospectively considered in future studies for its potential sedative characteristics in patients undergoing surgical procedures under local anaesthesia.Trial registration number:NCT03722771 (Influence of Lavender Oil on Vital Signs in Oral Surgery Patients) https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03722771

Dental anxiety at Riyadh Elm University Clinics

Context: Anxious patients are difficult to manage and tend to avoid dental treatment. Aim: The aim of this study is to explore dental anxiety (DA) among patients visiting Riyadh Elm University (REU) clinics. Materials and Methods: Dental patients were first oriented about the purpose of the study and then signed consent before filling a ten-item quantitative DA questionnaire that included demographic variables of age, gender, and educational level. Responses were scored on a scale of 1–4 for each question, and an overall questionnaire score of 40 was obtained. Low anxiety was considered with at or below 15, moderate anxiety between 16 and 27, and high anxiety at or above 28. Statistical analysis was performed with frequencies and cross-tabulation by Chi-square and Student's t-test. Results: Of 365 respondents, the majority (50.1%, n = 183) showed moderate anxiety followed by 104 participants (28.5%) showing high anxiety while only 78 participants (21.4%) exhibited low DA. Among the high DA group, 81% were female (n = 84) while 19% were male (n = 20) and this difference was statistically significant. High DA was recorded in patients aged 13–18 (25%) and 19–25 years (27%) compared to other age groups; however, the difference was statistically insignificant. Furthermore, schoolchildren demonstrated high DA (53%) compared to other educational levels, yet the difference was not statistically significant. Conclusion: A considerable number of patients attending REU dental clinics exhibited DA that was more intense among female patients, younger age groups, and the less educated individuals.

Assessment of Relationship between Dental Anxiety with Personality Traits among Medical and Dental Students in an Institute, Bangalore- A Cross Sectional Study

Aim: To assess the relationship between Dental Anxiety and Personality Traits among Medical and Dental students. Settings and Design: A cross sectional analytical study was conducted in medical and dental institution in Bangalore. Methods and Material: The study was conducted among 498undergraduate medical and dental students using a 21 item, self-administered questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of three parts a) Information on demographic details, b)Modified dental anxiety questionnaire consisiting of 5 questions and c)Revised Eyesenck personality scale consisiting of 16 questions for personality assessment. Statistical analysis: Statistical analysis was done using Pearson’s correlation to assess the correlation between Dental Anxiety and Personality Traits Results: In the present study, Severe levels of anxiety was found among 23.2% of medical students as compared to 2.75% for dental students. On investigating Personality Traits of the Study Subjects, 37.07% were under extraversion category, 23.74%were under neurotocism, 3.42%were under lie scale and 34.79% were under mixed personality traits. There was a positive correlation found between Dental Anxiety and Personality Traits. Conclusion: Dental anxiety is a major determinant of one’s general predisposition towards dental-health interactions and is dependent on the Personality traits of an individual.

Association of Dental Anxiety and Oral Health-related Quality of Life in Pregnant Women: A Cross-sectional Survey

To explore the association between dental anxiety and oral health-related quality of life among Chinese pregnant women. A cross-sectional survey was conducted on a consecutive 502 pregnant women in the outpatient departments of Obstetrics and Gynecology from a local general hospital. The measures included a dental anxiety questionnaire to assess dental anxiety, the Chinese version of Oral Health Impact Profile to assess oral health-related quality of life, and a self-designed questionnaire to collect data on the socio-demographic and clinical characteristics. Of the participants, 26.7% suffered from dental anxiety. The overall OHIP-14 was 9.16 ± 7.19. Both bivariate and multivariate analysis found that higher dental anxiety was significantly associated with lower oral health-related quality of life (P < 0.001). The dental anxiety of pregnant women may be a significant indicator of their oral health-related quality of life.

Factors associated with dental anxiety in Brazilian children during the first transitional period of the mixed dentition.

To determine the prevalence of dental anxiety in children during the first transitional period of the mixed dentition and associated factors. A Cross-sectional study was performed with 1367 children of both genders aged 6-7years old conducted in schools in Recife, Brazil in 2013. The data were collected through interviews and intra-oral examinations. Dental anxiety data were obtained using the dental anxiety questionnaire (DAQ). The associated factors considered were: age, gender, social group, child's experience with the dentist, history of dental pain, experience of caries and phase of exfoliation. The prevalence of children with some level of dental anxiety was 54.4%. Visit to the dentist and social group were associated with dental anxiety (p<0.001). The prevalence of dental anxiety was high, although children attending private schools and those who had visited the dentist before had a lower prevalence of dental anxiety.

Use of dental anxiety questionnaire and clinical approaches: A National survey among pediatric dentists in India

Use of dental anxiety questionnaire and clinical approaches: A National survey among pediatric dentists in India

Dental Anxiety Prevalence and Associated Factors among Patients Attending the Academy Dental Teaching Hospital – Khartoum, Sudan

Aim: To assess the prevalence of dental anxiety and the possible associated factors among adult patients. Materials and Methods: A descriptive, Cross-sectional, hospital based study among 384 patients (age 18-65 year) attended the outpatient clinic at Academy dental teaching hospital from period of February 2015 to April 2015. Corah’s dental anxiety questionnaire was completed by the participants that included three sections: demographic data and factors that could be associated with dental anxiety, Part (A) score assessing dental anxiety before receiving the treatment and Part (B) score assessing dental anxiety during or after receiving dental treatment. Chi-square test was used for association with the level of significance set at P <0.05. Results: Dental anxiety prevalence before receiving dental treatment (DAS-R score of 13 or more) was 26.1%, while during or after receiving the treatment was 26.8%. Dental anxiety was found to be associated with age (P = 0.00), pervious dental experience and socioeconomic status (P = 0.15) in both part (A) and (B) scores while gender (P=0.015 with a part A and P=0.009 with part B), number of dental visits (P=0.003 with part (A) and 0.017 with part (B) score). Occupation, educational level and type of treatment were found to be associated with part (A) score only. Conclusion: Dental anxiety in its different levels was found to be prevalent among all participants involved in this study. Dental healthcare providers could play an important role in counseling anxious patients to reduce the impact of these factors when seeking dental care.

Informatıon given by multımedıa: influence on anxıety about extractıon of impacted wısdom teeth

Dental fear is the fourth most common fear among the population. Well-informed patients seemed to be less anxious, and have the least anxiety before a planned procedure. Our aim was to find out the ideal way of information required by the patient before extraction of an impacted wisdom tooth. A total of 129 patients listed for extraction of impacted teeth were randomly allocated into three groups: control group (n=42); video dubbed by the surgeon (n=43); and silent video (n=44). Their sociodemographic variables and baseline anxiety scores were comparable, and each group was assessed for anxiety: (1) three days preoperatively, (2) after they had watched a video, (3) immediately preoperatively and (4) postoperatively. Assessments were made with the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Modified Dental Anxiety Scale, The Dental Anxiety Questionnaire, and the Visual Analogue Scale for pain. There were no significant differences in anxiety scores among the scales before or after operation. The degree of anxiety was similar throughout the study in all groups. However, patients were more satisfied with the information when they had seen it on video, and said that they would prefer to be told about further procedures in the same way.