Dental anxiety and regularity of dental attendance in younger adults

Dental anxiety constitutes a major problem for patients and dental care providers alike. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between dental anxiety and regularity of dental attendance among young adults. A random sample of 15 course directors (1:50) was asked to participate in the study. Of these, only 10 course-directors agreed to handout the 500 questionnaires. All undergraduate students who participated in this study were asked to complete a questionnaire modified from Dental Fear Survey (DFS) questionnaire and 368 (73.6%) filled forms were returned for statistical analysis. The results showed that only 20.9% were regular dental attendee while the majority (79.1%) were irregular attendee. The reasons given for irregular attendance were 'lack of time' (36%), 'treatment not needed' (34.1%), 'fear from dentist' (13.3%) and 'cost' (16.6%). The sight and sensation of the injection and sight, sound, and sensation of the drill were the most common fear-eliciting stimuli. Increased heart rate was the commonest reported physiological response. Females had higher mean ratings, therefore tended to be more anxious than males. Dental anxiety represented by the mean responses to the items, was found to be higher in irregular dental attendee than regular attendee. In conclusion, this suggests that dental anxiety may affect the seeking of dental care, therefore to be taken into account when training dental care providers.