Dental anxiety in patients attending a student dental clinic

Dental anxiety in patients attending a student dental clinic

This study investigated the expectations and experiences of a sample of new patients visiting an Australian regional university Student Dental Clinic with regard to anxiety provoking and alleviating stimuli in the clinical environment. Differences in anxiety levels were examined by age, gender and t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:BMC oral health Vol. 18; no. 1; p. 48
Main Authors: Caltabiano, Marie L, Croker, Felicity, Page, Lauren, Sklavos, Anton, Spiteri, Jade, Hanrahan, Louise, Choi, Richard
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 20-03-2018
BioMed Central
BMC
Subjects:
Adult
Age Factors
Anxiety
Australia
Australia - epidemiology
Care and treatment
Dental anxiety
Dental Anxiety - epidemiology
Dental Anxiety - etiology
Dental Anxiety - psychology
Dental students
Dentistry
Humans
Middle Aged
Practice
Risk Factors
Sex Factors
Student dentist
Student Health Services - statistics & numerical data
Surveys and Questionnaires
University dental clinic
Young Adult
Australia
University dental clinic
Dental anxiety
Student dentist
Australia
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Summary:This study investigated the expectations and experiences of a sample of new patients visiting an Australian regional university Student Dental Clinic with regard to anxiety provoking and alleviating stimuli in the clinical environment. Differences in anxiety levels were examined by age, gender and the type of procedure undergone. The number of dental patients who participated in the study was 102 (56 males, 43 females). The study used a pre-treatment/post-treatment design to assess the effect of the dental procedure on anxiety levels of patients. The Modified Dental Anxiety Scale (MDAS) was used to measure anxiety levels in patients at pre-treatment. Questions were also asked about factors which may increase (length of the appointment, invasiveness of procedure) or decrease (perceived student interpersonal skills and clinical ability) dental fear. Females reported higher total MDAS scores (M = 11.93) compared to males (M = 9.94). Younger patients (M = 12.15) had higher dental anxiety than older patients (M = 9.34). There was a reduction in dental anxiety from pre-treatment (M = 1.92) to post-treatment (M = 1.23) on the single item anxiety measure though most of the treatment being undergone by patients was for less complex procedures. Patients' anticipatory experience of anxiety was higher than the anxiety experience after having undergone treatment at the student dental clinic. Student interpersonal skills and clinical ability as perceived by the patient can lessen dental anxiety in patients. Clinical Supervisor-student ratios need to be more equivalent in order to reduce the time length of appointments which currently are associated with increased patient anxiety levels in student dental clinics.
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ISSN:1472-6831
1472-6831
DOI:10.1186/s12903-018-0507-5