Prevalence and determinants of dental anxiety among adult population in Benin City, Nigeria

Abstract

Objectives: Dental anxiety is a significant determinant of regular dental visits. The objectives of the study were to determine the prevalence and determinants of dental anxiety among adult patients at the dental center of the University of Benin Teaching Hospital. Subjects and Methods: A total of 390 respondents aged 16-89-year-old were interviewed for the study. The Participants were selected through a predetermined sequence of systematic random sampling and completed a questionnaire based on the Coral Dental Anxiety Scale (CDAS). Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 20.0 (SPSS version 20, IBM Statistics, New York, USA) and means compared using Student's t-test and analysis of variance. Results: The prevalence of dental anxiety (CDAS ≥ 13) in the study population was 8.7% (n = 34), and the overall mean and standard deviation of CDAS was 7.81 ± 2.50. The total mean dental anxiety score and mean for each item were significantly higher in females than in males (t = 6.17 P = 0.016). There was a significant decrease in mean CDAS score with age (F = 14.51, P = 0.005). Mean CDAS score was significantly higher in respondents without formal education than those with formal education (t = 7.41, P = 0.005). The mean CDAS scores for root canal therapy were 9. 66 ± 3.16; extraction, 8.84 ± 2.33; filling, 6.45 ± 2.81; and scaling, 5.12 ± 1.87. The highest and lowest means were not significantly different (t = 2.73, P = 0.07). Conclusion: The prevalence of dental anxiety in the study sample was low. Whereas dental anxiety was significantly associated with age, gender, and educational status, there was no significant relationship between dental anxiety and type of dental treatment.

Magnitude and Determinants of Dental Anxiety among Adult Patients Attending Public Dental Clinics in Dar-Es-Salaam, Tanzania

“…Contrary to the findings in the literature [ 1 , 21 ], in this study, it was found that participants with a higher level of education were more anxious than those with lower education levels. Our findings were similar to the findings from elsewhere [ 8 , 27 , 29 ].…”

“…Several studies have suggested that dental anxiety is lower in the older age groups [3,21,27,28], and results from this study have similar findings. Young patients were 3 times more anxious than the older ones.…”

“…Findings of the present study indicate that there was a high prevalence of dental anxiety among the participants similar to a report from a study done in India [ 20 ] contrary to the previous reports from Tanzania [ 11 ] and elsewhere [ 21 – 24 ]. The differences in the prevalence of anxiety between the current study and others may be attributed to the different research methodologies used, type of study setting, and characteristics of the study population.…”

“…Young patients were 3 times more anxious than the older ones. Low levels of anxiety in older age may be because the aging process itself is characterized by a general decline in anxiety due to increased exposures over time which in turn allows one to develop tolerance to treatment [ 3 , 21 ].…”

“…A cutoff score of >19 was used to identify individuals with high levels of dental anxiety. us, the level of anxiety was classified according to the total score obtained as no anxiety (total score 6), mild-to-moderate anxiety (7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19), severe-to-extreme anxiety (20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30).…”