Additional psychometric data for the Spanish Modified Dental Anxiety Scale, and psychometric data for a Spanish version of the Revised Dental Beliefs Survey

Abstract

BackgroundHispanics comprise the largest ethnic minority group in the United States. Previous work with the Spanish Modified Dental Anxiety Scale (MDAS) yielded good validity, but lower test-retest reliability. We report the performance of the Spanish MDAS in a new sample, as well as the performance of the Spanish Revised Dental Beliefs Survey (R-DBS).MethodsOne hundred sixty two Spanish-speaking adults attending Spanish-language church services or an Hispanic cultural festival completed questionnaires containing the Spanish MDAS, Spanish R-DBS, and dental attendance questions, and underwent a brief oral examination. Church attendees completed the questionnaire a second time, for test-retest purposes.ResultsThe Spanish MDAS and R-DBS were completed by 156 and 136 adults, respectively. The test-retest reliability of the Spanish MDAS was 0.83 (95% CI = 0.60-0.92). The internal reliability of the Spanish R-DBS was 0.96 (95% CI = 0.94-0.97), and the test-retest reliability was 0.86 (95% CI = 0.64-0.94). The two measures were significantly correlated (Spearman's rho = 0.38, p < 0.001). Participants who do not currently go to a dentist had significantly higher MDAS scores (t = 3.40, df = 106, p = 0.003) as well as significantly higher R-DBS scores (t = 2.21, df = 131, p = 0.029). Participants whose most recent dental visit was for pain or a problem, rather than for a check-up, scored significantly higher on both the MDAS (t = 3.00, df = 106, p = 0.003) and the R-DBS (t = 2.85, df = 92, p = 0.005). Those with high dental fear (MDAS score 19 or greater) were significantly more likely to have severe caries (Chi square = 6.644, df = 2, p = 0.036). Higher scores on the R-DBS were significantly related to having more missing teeth (Spearman's rho = 0.23, p = 0.009).ConclusionIn this sample, the test-retest reliability of the Spanish MDAS was higher. The significant relationships between dental attendance and questionnaire scores, as well as the difference in caries severity seen in those with high fear, add to the evidence of this scale's construct validity in Hispanic samples. Our results also provide evidence for the internal and test-retest reliabilities, as well as the construct validity, of the Spanish R-DBS.

Validation of the Malay version of the Modified Dental Anxiety Scale and the prevalence of dental anxiety in a Malaysian population

“…This was further confirmed by the data in Table , showing consistently high “Cronbach's alpha if item deleted” scores, indicating that all five items of the MDAS had contributed significantly to the internal consistency of the scale. The Cronbach's alpha value obtained for this study was essentially similar to the same value found in other language versions, such as 0.88 (Spanish), 0.88 (Arabic), and 0.83 (Tamil) . Both the exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis results support a single factor solution for modelling a single dimensional scale.…”

The effect of dental anxiety on the dental status of adult patients in the Lodz region

“…Wen stromm et al 19 oceniając zdjęcia pantomograficzne ko biet w wieku 38 i 50 lat pod kątem występowania próch nicy zębów, stwierdzili gorszy stan uzębienia u pacjentek odczuwających lęk stomatologiczny. Coolidge et al 7 za uważyli również częstsze występowanie zaawansowanej próchnicy o ostrym przebiegu u osób cierpiących na den tofobię.…”

“…Obserwacje dotyczące tego zagadnienia nie są jedno znaczne, bowiem Coolidge et al 7 po zbadaniu hiszpań skiej populacji nie znaleźli podobnej zależności. Badanie własne również nie potwierdziło związku między pozio mem lęku a odsetkiem usuniętych zębów, chociaż u pa cjentów lękowych wartość tego odsetka była wyraźnie większa (25, 0 vs 17,2%).…”

“…1 Lęk przed leczeniem stomatologicznym jest częstym zjawiskiem i dotyczy od 16 do 24% dorosłych w różnych populacjach, 4-8 a od 12 do 16% z nich cierpi z powodu dentofobii, która obok lęku wysokości należy do najczę ściej diagnozowanych fobii. [5][6][7][9][10][11] Jej występowanie za leży od wieku, płci, wykształcenia i statusu socjoekono micznego. Częściej dotyczy kobiet 8 i osób do 30. r.ż.…”

Reliability and validity of the Tamil version of Modified Dental Anxiety Scale

“…Completion of the questionnaire does not increase patient fear, and has been shown to reduce state-trait anxiety in clinical settings (12). It has been found to be reliable and valid (7,13) cross culturally, and was translated into different languages like Spanish (14), Greek (15), Chinese (16), Romanian (17), and Turkish (18).…”