The Relationship between Dental Anxiety and Reported Dental Treatment Experience in 11-14-Year-Old Jordanian Children

Background: Anxiety is a major drawback for children encountering different dental experiences and procedures. Aim: To determine the influence of reported dental experiences on dental anxiety in Jordanian children aged 11-14 years old. Design: From 630 children, aged 11-14 years, 583 (92.5%) completed a two-part questionnaire. The first part was to record which dental procedures they had experienced. These procedures were the same as those included in the MCDAS (modified child dental anxiety scale), which formed the second part of the questionnaire. The scale consisted of eight questions, which invited the children to rate their anxiety about a variety of dental experiences ranging from attendance to the dentist to dental treatment under inhalation sedation. Results: Females were found to have a higher MDAS (mean dental anxiety score) than males (p < 0.05). Children were significantly less anxious about specific items of dental treatment if they had experienced that specific type of treatment. The MDAS for children who experienced restorative treatment was lower than those who reported no experience. Conclusions: Girls were more dentally anxious than boys and children who experienced dental visits more frequently were significantly less anxious than those who reported infrequent visits.