Evaluation of Dental Fear and Anxiety in Displaced Persons in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract

IntroductionIn Bosnia and Herzegovina, apart from domicile population, there is a certain number of displaced persons. Most of them are situated in the area of Canton Tuzla. These persons are generally at risk of and being watched for various diseases, including the disease of the orofacial area. Dental fear and anxiety (DFA) is also inevitably present in displaced persons, with higher prevalence compared with general population. Therefore, the aim was to evaluate the DFA presence and the most common reasons for dental fear and anxiety in displaced persons in our country.Patients and methods310 interviewed persons were included in this study, aged 35 to 44 years, from several cities of Canton Tuzla. They were divided in the group of displaced persons (n=153), and the group of domicile inhabitants (n=157). The study participants were interviewed about the DFA presence, as well as about the risk factors for DFA, which was subsequently evaluated by the Modified Corah's Dental Anxiety Scale.ResultsA high prevalence of DFA presence was determined in the total sample (38.71%), and particularly in the displaced persons group (57.52%). The results showed that displaced persons rarely visited dentists, mainly when it was necessary (odontalgia), with stronger reactions to factors that could cause DFA appearance.ConclusionDisplaced persons are regarded as one of the highest risk groups for prevalence of DFA. This could be mainly due to poor oral health status, rare dental office visits and the urgent need for dental treatment, which could lead to vicious circle of mutual strengthening between bad oral health and DFA appearance.

<p>When the fear of dentist is relevant for more than one’s oral health. A structural equation model of dental fear, self-esteem, oral-health-related well-being, and general well-being</p>

“…In relation with the overall quality of life, a study concerned with the evaluation of dental fear and anxiety in displaced persons in Bosnia and Herzegovina54 provided empirical evidence that vulnerable individuals are more prone to higher levels of dental fear, poor oral health status, rarer visits to the dentist, and urgent need for dental treatment, and concluded that bad oral health and dental fear may be reciprocally influencing each other.54 Vulnerable groups, such as people with mental disorders, are also more susceptible to poorer oral health whilst having to deal with increased dental fear, poorer coping strategies, and other economic and social challenges.55…”

“…While the studies reviewed above depicting a clear picture of association between oral health, as a central construct, and other related variables, what they lack is a concrete, theoretically based conceptualization of the relationship between the variables of interest. More specifically, while some studies treat oral health as the outcome variable,30 others do precisely the opposite, and operationalize it as the predictor variable.31 Finally, there are also studies that warn about mechanisms of mutual influence.54…”

Oral health problems facing refugees in Europe: a scoping review

“…One of the studies presented the oral health challenges for this group of people [ 8 ]. Finally, one study evaluated the fear and anxiety for dental health among displaced people in Bosnia and Herzegovina [ 33 ]. Studies characteristics are summed in Table 1 .…”

Reliability and Validity of Scales for Assessing Child Dental Fear and Anxiety

“…Karras (16) ističe da je koeficijent valjanosti testa jednak koeficijentu korelacije između testa i njegova referentnog kriterija. Premda se smatra da su koeficijenti od 0,80 poželjni, značajnost koeficijenta može se temeljiti na p-vrijednostima q korelacija.…”

“…This scale is based on the Corah Dental Anxiety Scale (CDAS) and it includes eight questions to assess anxiety in different dental situations. A five-point Likert scale is used to score the level of dental anxiety (15,16). However, the (MCDAS) scale is not suitable for the assessment of dental anxiety in very young children who are not capable of good cognitive functioning.…”