FEAR IN RESIDENTS OF BATHINDA CITY REGARDING DENTAL TREATMENTS: – A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY
*Harmanpreet Kaur, Dr. Ridhi Narang, Dr. Amanish Singh Shinh, Dr. Imtiyaz Nadaf, Dr. Jatinder Singh and Dr. Sanjana Parwal
ABSTRACT
Background: The study explored the expectations and experiences of a sample of general population of the residents of Bathinda city in relation to anxiety evoking and alleviating impulses in the dental clinics. Material and Methods: A cross-sectional study using e-survey constructed through google forms was circulated amongst Bathinda residents. The study sample comprised of 500 subjects (208 males and 292 females). Demographic data along with the Modified Dental Anxiety Scale (MDAS) and an additional open-ended question enquiring about the dental anxiety reason was used to assess the effect of the dental procedure on anxiety levels of participants. Chi-square test was used to find association between different variables. Results: Among the study group, 41.6% were men and 58.4% were women. Based on Modified Dental Anxiety Scale (MDAS), females reported higher total MDAS scores (11.38 ± 4.89) compared to males (10 ± 4.740). Significant relation was seen between anxiety and fear of non-tolerance of pain (p=0.02 and p=0.04 respectively) and fear of doctor/treatment/result. Conclusion: The study concluded that apprehension regarding dental anxiety and fear has a wide prevalence rate encompassing both genders. A plethora of factors like age, gender, education, previous dental visits along with their experiences influences the dental fear to various levels. Non-tolerance of pain was stated as the most quotidian reason for the participants who were anxious about the dental check-up followed by the advised treatment.
Keywords: Dental, Anxiety, Treatment, Fear, MDAS.
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