Association of dental anxiety with psychosocial characteristics among children aged 7-13 years

Abstract

Objective: To identify psychosocial characteristics associated with dental anxiety in children aged 7-13 years in the dental setting. Material and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted with children aged 7-13 years attended at the Dentistry School of Pelotas, Brazil. Data collection was based on a questionnaire administered to mothers and children, and the behavior of children during dental treatment was evaluated using the Frankl’ Scale. Data were analyzed using Chi-square and Fisher’s exact tests in order to analyze the association between independent variables and dental anxiety. The effect of variables on the outcome was assessed by the Poisson regression model with robust variance (Prevalence Ratio; 95% Confidence interval). Results: A total of 187 children were included. Dental anxiety prevalence was 40.11%. After adjustments, younger children (p=0.046), only child (p=0.019), and children with negative previous dental experience (p=0.046) showed higher dental anxiety prevalence. Children with uncooperative behavior in previous (p=0.033) and current (p≤0.001) dental appointments showed higher dental anxiety prevalence. Conclusion: In this sample of children treated at a dentistry school, a report of dental anxiety was associated with age, birth order, previous dental experience and behavior in dental settings.