Prevalence of Gagging in Children and the Association Between Gagging and Dental Fear: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Gag reflex is a natural defense mechanism that prevents the passage of unwanted objects to the aspiratory system (trachea, larynx, and oropharyngeal airway). 1 Intraoral areas, posterior pharyngeal wall, palatoglossal and palatopharyngeal folds, palate, uvula and root of tongue known as "trigger zones" in the formation of the reflex. 2 With the stimulation of these points, the transmission of the cranial nerves (notably, the pharyngeal nerve) to the medulla oblongata with sensory neurons causes irregular and

The prevalence and influencing factors of gag reflex in children aged 7–14 years in the dental setting

“…7 The prevalence of gag reflex among Turkish children was examined in one study, and the prevalence was reported as 29.5% varying in severity from 1 to 3 in children aged between 6 and 14 years. 16 In this present study, the prevalence of gag reflex among 7-14 years old Turkish children was found as 34.1%. The higher prevalence of this study is most likely because of differences between measurements of gagging.…”

“…17 In another studies, younger children have a greater tendency to gag. 7,16 Besides that, Katsouda et al(2017) did not find any significant difference in children aged between 8 and 14 years. 8 To give accurate answers to the questions asked in the current study, children between the ages of 7-14 were selected, and the difference between children who gagged or did not gag was not found statistically significant.…”

“…3 In this study, the prevalence of gag reflex was higher in males than in females, similar to previous studies. 7,16 However, the sex of the children was not found to be a risk factor for gagging. In previous studies, the results were inconsistent according to the relationship between age and gagging.…”

“…In the previous study among Turkish children, the Classification of Gagging Problem Index was used for severity of gagging. 16 In the studies of Katsouda et al (2017Katsouda et al ( ,2019, they examined gagging by the original version of dentist section of GPA which consist six sides. 7,8 In the current study, the revised version of GPA (GPA-R-de) method was used to diagnose which included tongue examination for better accuracy in the GPA method and children coded as gagged if they gag any of the eight sites.…”

“…The results were consistent with previous studies. 5,7,15,16,18 Dental anxiety of children is mostly related to a family history of dental anxiety. 19,20 But, in the present study, dental anxiety levels of mothers correlated with child dental fears but did not influence the children gagging.…”