Factors influencing anxiety levels in children undergoing dental treatment in an undergraduate clinic

Abstract

Introduction: Dental anxiety is a kind of fear exerted due to threatening stimuli. Assessing a child's dental anxiety level is very important to perform a particular treatment. The aim of this study is to examine the various factors that determine the anxiety levels in children and evaluate their anxiety levels. Materials and Methods: A total of 50 children participated in the survey conducted. Each participant had fulfilled the inclusion and exclusion criteria to answer the questionnaire. It included questions regarding their habits, fears, and dental visit experience. Evaluation of their anxiety levels was done using the facial image scale (FIS) and the modified dental anxiety scale and was correlated with various factors using the Statistical Package for Social Science Software. Results: Female children are more anxious than male children toward dental treatment. About 38% were anxious and 16% refused while undergoing radiographic examination and showed significant anxiety levels ( P = 0.012). About 16% of the population were highly uncooperative and were necessary to implement behavioral shaping techniques on them. It influences the FIS anxiety score before initiation of the treatment ( P = 0.003). About 48% of children had maintained a good rapport with the dentist and showed strong significance with the child's anxiety ( P = 0.025). Conclusion: Gender and behavior of the child while diagnosis and radiographic examination, implementation of behavioral shaping techniques, and rapport developed between child and dentist are all influencing factors of dental anxiety. The number of visits to the dental clinic, socioeconomic status, kind of amount of consumption of sugars, and type of treatment being done do not contribute to a child's anxiety level.

The Effectiveness of Cognitive-behavioral Intervention on Dental Anxiety During Pulpotomy in 7-10 Year-old Children: A Clinical Trial

“…However, the mean dental anxiety after treatment in the intervention group showed a significant decrease compared to the control group. Boys showed significantly higher dental anxiety after treatment in both groups, which was different from the findings of Katanec et al [ 19 ] and Kothari and Gurunathan [ 20 ] who reported higher level of anxiety in girls, and the findings of Ghasem Pour et al [ 21 ] who found no correlation between stress score and gender.…”

A Cross-Sectional Study on Incidence and Predictors of Self-Reported Dental Anxiety among Nigerian Public Primary Schoolchildren

“…22 In contrast to some research that found that participants' age was a contributing factor to differences in dental anxiety scores, 7,11,12,15 other studies found the opposite, 8,24 which is consistent with our current findings regarding the relationship between age and dental anxiety in schoolchildren. Our findings aligned with other previous studies, 25,26 indicating that anxiety had no relation to SES, but it contrasted with the finding of a study that revealed that there was a positive correlation between SES and the behavior of children in dental clinics. 27 Even though reliable empirical methods were used, this study has some limitations.…”

Baseline Assessment of Dental Behavior Patterns, Associated Factors and Non-pharmacological Behavior Management Approaches among High Caries Risk 2-5-year Old Children Receiving Preventive Oral Health Care

“…Further, children who never visited the dentist and those who frequently experienced dental pain: a proxy indicator of high burden of dental caries experienced more dental fear [29]. An Indian study conducted among children revealed, gender differences in dental anxiety as female children were more dentally anxious than their male counterpart however, the number of visits to the dental clinic, socioeconomic status, cariogenic dietary pattern, and type of treatment being done did not contribute to a child's anxiety level [30]. Supporting our findings, a study revealed that there could be associations of duration of breast feeding and bottle feeding with child anxiety disorders [31].…”