The Influence of Stress and Anxiety on the Expectation, Perception and Memory of Dental Pain in Schoolchildren

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the association of stress and anxiety with the expectation, perception and memory of dental pain among schoolchildren. A follow-up study involving 46 children aged 9 to 12 years was conducted in a public school in the city of Petropolis (RJ), Brazil. Demographic characteristics, stress (children’s stress scale), and state and trait anxiety (state–trait anxiety inventory) were recorded before a dental procedure to restore the occlusal surface of a permanent first molar under local anaesthetic. Dental pain was assessed using the faces pain scale before (dental pain expectation), immediately after (dental pain perception) and six weeks after (memory of dental pain) the dental procedure. Dental pain expectation scores were significantly higher than dental pain perception, independent of the levels of stress, state anxiety and trait anxiety. Children with high scores of stress (OR 1.05 95%CI 1.02–1.09), state anxiety (OR 1.15 95%CI 1.05–1.27) and trait anxiety (OR 1.18 95%CI 1.07–1.30) were more likely to report greater scores of dental pain expectation. Children anticipated more dental pain than what was actually perceived after the dental restoration. Children with greater levels of stress and anxiety have a distorted evaluation of expected dental pain before the dental procedure.

Effect of music on reducing anxiety in children during dental treatment

“…There was no significant difference in the Corah anxiety scale in this study, which confirms the results obtained by Aitken et al [28]. According to Lamarca et al [30], children anticipate more pain than they experience during dental treatment, which could reinforce the results obtained in the present study, since the Corah anxiety scale was checked before and after dental treatment. Although children liked the music and asked for more during treatment, they may have transferred feelings acquired during the treatment to the time of the application of the scale, making it difficult to obtain reliable results representing their emotional state after the treatment.…”

“…There was no significant difference in this work in the perception of pain with the use of music, confirming the results obtained in the works Aitken et al [28] and Gupta et al [5] Lamarca et al [30] stated that pain is strongly linked to anxiety. Pre-treatment anxiety could have influenced the evaluation of pain in children with high degree of anxiety and stress, promoting a negative expectation and changing the sensory quality of pain.…”

Oral and Psychological Alterations in Haemophiliac Patients

“…It is certainly important to collaborate during dental care, so as to simplify the work of the clinician. In this article, all the psychological aspects of haemophilia patients were considered, with the aim of making people understand what “psychological” strategies to use during dental treatment [14,15,16].…”

A influência de fatores psicossociais protetores sobre a incidência de dor dentária

“…Uma revisão sistemática prévia demonstrou que medo e a ansiedade relacionados ao atendimento odontológico são comuns em crianças e adolescentes e que esses fatores psicológicos foram relacionados com a dor dentária 3 . Ademais, o estresse e a ansiedade foram preditores para a expectativa, percepção e memória da dor dentária em crianças 21 .…”