Dental phobia among Saudis

Abstract

This study compares dental fear and phobias among patients attending: (1) primary care dental clinics, or (2) specialist dental clinics, or (3) nondental clinics. Of 853 patients, 539 from dental clinics and 314 from nondental clinics were interviewed in a structured interview. Patients from primary dental clinics and from specialist dental clinics did not differ. However, nondental clinic patients had more dental phobia and more avoidance of dental clinics. Dental clinic patients had more chronic dental problems than did nondental clinic attenders. Dental phobia was much more common among women, whose onset age was younger than in men, and the phobia interfered greatly with dental care. Dental phobics had fainted more often during dental treatment, had more chronic dental problems, more family history of dental phobia, and more blood and specific phobias. Most of the dental phobics reported dental trauma before the fear started. Anxiety 2:140–144 (1996). © 1996 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

Dental anxiety in first- and final-year Indian dental students

“…Indeed, 26.6% of first-year students replied that they are very anxious during the drilling of teeth, and 18.1% confirmed that they were extremely anxious about receiving a local anesthetic injection; this observation is in agreement with previous studies documented elsewhere. 35,36 Approximately one-quarter (24%) of students were very anxious, and 14% were extremely anxious regarding the prospect of receiving dental treatment, and these experiences usually began whilst these subjects are awaiting such treatment in dental surgery reception areas. Their responses revealed that the drilling of a carious tooth was a predominant cause of dental anxiety, and this finding is also similar to that found in previous study reports.…”

“…Their responses revealed that the drilling of a carious tooth was a predominant cause of dental anxiety, and this finding is also similar to that found in previous study reports. 35,36…”

“…These results concur with those of a further study. 36 Since the co-existence of dental anxiety and poor oral health-related quality of life (QoL) is not simply explicable, further investigations are required to explore this. However, both oral health-related QoL and dental anxiety are inter-dependent phenomena, the former enhancing the latter’s levels.…”

“…However, both oral health-related QoL and dental anxiety are inter-dependent phenomena, the former enhancing the latter’s levels. 36…”

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

“…In extremely anxious and phobic individuals, dental anxiety can be detrimental to the preservation of oral health due to the emergence of a vicious cycle: fear leads to poor attendance, which in turn leads to symptom‐driven treatment that sustains increased fear and causes avoidance of treatment, resulting in poor oral health . Extreme dental anxiety is due to the interplay of multiple factors, including the impact of family and the social environment, psychological traits, traumatic experiences, and “second‐hand” learning …”