Dental fear in children: the role of previous negative dental experiences

• Published in: Clinical oral investigations 2015-04, Vol.19 (3), p.745-751
• Main Authors: Mendoza-Mendoza, Asunción, Perea, María Biedma, Yañez-Vico, Rosa M., Iglesias-Linares, Alejandro
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Child; Child, Preschool; Dental Anxiety - etiology; Dental Care for Children; Dentistry; Female; Humans; Male; Medicine; Pain Measurement; Prospective Studies; Risk Factors; Short Communication; Surveys and Questionnaires
• ISSN: 1432-6981; 1436-3771
• DOI: 10.1007/s00784-014-1380-5

Objectives The aims of this study were to determine the potential main sources of anxiety in children visiting the dental office and to examine whether negative experiences influence the development of dental fear. Methods Six hundred six subjects from the same pediatric dental office were consecutively invited to participate in the study (303 children/303 parents). An adapted version of the Wong-Baker FACES Pain Rating Scale and Corah’s Dental Anxiety Scale were used to rate anxiety in children and parents. Clinical variables were collected by the same experienced pediatric dentist, with a view to determining their potential influence upon the development of fears. Descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation), along with the Mann-Whitney U test, were used to determine the association between clinical variables and anxiety levels. Correlations were established using the Spearman coefficient ( r ) ( p   0.05). Greater anxiety levels were observed in 4- and 5-year-old children ( n  = 56/55, respectively), with a negative correlation between age and anxiety level ( r  = −0.176; p  = 0.002) and between parent anxiety level and patient age ( r  = −0.154; p  = 0.007). A strong positive correlation was found between the anxiety levels of the parents and children ( r  = 0.954; p