Oral health and dental anxiety in a German practice-based sample. Clin Oral Investig 2017 Jun;21(5):1675-1680
Date
09/07/2016Pubmed ID
27596605DOI
10.1007/s00784-016-1951-8Scopus ID
2-s2.0-85019688104 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 27 CitationsAbstract
OBJECTIVE: Does dental anxiety have an effect on dental and periodontal health?
METHODS: Survey data was collected from n = 200 adults (53 % females, average age 49 years) in a cross-sectional study. Dental anxiety was measured with the modified dental anxiety scale (MDAS, score 1-5, the greater the score, the greater the anxiety). Clinical parameters including probing depth (PD), clinical attachment level (CAL), plaque index (SLI), and bleeding on probing (BoP) as well as the DMFT index were recorded and statistically analyzed.
RESULTS: Rating of dental anxiety was higher in women than in men (65 vs 35 %). Subjects with higher MDAS values visited the dentist less frequently (p = 0.001) and had more decay (DT 6.7 ± 4.2 vs 1.7 ± 2.4; p < 0.001) but fewer filled teeth than subjects with lower ratings of dental anxiety (FT 7.1 ± 4.5 vs 9.8 ± 5.7; p = 0.042). There were no differences in PD or CAL between subjects with or without dental anxiety, while patients with higher MDAS value showed significantly more BoP (50 ± 19 vs 34 ± 20 %; p = 0.002) than patients with low MDAS scores (no or low dental anxiety).
CONCLUSIONS: Patients with higher ratings of dental anxiety had significantly more caries experience and gingivitis. Therefore, dental anxiety is associated with negative effect on dental and periodontal health.
CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Identifying patients with high dental anxiety and helping to manage this anxiety has important implications to improve oral health in adults. The MDAS appears to be an easy and efficient tool that can be used to identify patients with dental anxiety in dental practices.
Author List
Guentsch A, Stier C, Raschke GF, Peisker A, Fahmy MD, Kuepper H, Schueler IAuthor
Arndt Geuntsch in the CTSI department at Medical College of Wisconsin - CTSIMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
Cross-Sectional StudiesDental Anxiety
Dental Plaque Index
Female
Germany
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Oral Health
Periodontal Index
Sex Factors
Surveys and Questionnaires