Dental Visit Phobia Among Adults in Al - Najaf City/Iraq: A Cross-Section Study

Despite the recent innovation and technological advances in modern dentistry, dental anxiety continues to be a widespread problem affecting child and adult populations to visit dental clinic. Patients with dental anxiety tend to delay or avoid dental care which will result in worsening their oral health. On the other hand, patients with dental anxiety are a considerable source of stress that can compromise the dentists’ clinical performance. Thus, there is a need to identify patients with dental anxiety before treatment initiation. This can help dental care providers to provide effective treatment. This study involve questionnaire developed in the Najaf Governorate included 183 participants, comprising 62 males and 121 females. The results indicate that males are less likely to seek dental care regularly compared to females and severe fear was significantly more common among females (15%, 19 individuals) than males (8.1%, 5 individuals). The most common cause of fear was pain, affecting 38.4% of males (32 individuals) and 34.6% of females (53 individuals) and the most preferred solution was pain relief techniques chosen by 49.4% of males (41 individuals) and 46.9% of females (75 individuals). In conclusion, females tend to visit dentists more often than males, though the difference is not significant. Women experience higher dental anxiety and greater fear of medical tools, while men report slightly more fear of pain. Both genders value pain relief, but females emphasize the importance of psychological support from dentists.