Understanding Fear and Anxiety Related to the Dental Treatment

Dental anxiety is the fear, anxiety, or stress associated with things like needles, drills, or the dental setting in general that may delay or avoid dental treatment.

The present conceptualization of issues related to dental care-related fear and anxiety and its measurement across the lifespan is explored and presented at the 52nd Annual Meeting & Exhibition of The American Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research (AADOCR) in Portland on March 15-18, 2023.

Dental care-related fear and anxiety mainly result in the delay of dental treatment, poor oral health, and low oral health-related quality of life, among other deleterious outcomes. The true prevalence of dental care-related fear and anxiety has not been consistently measured, but global estimates of clinically significant levels of this fear/anxiety are around 15 percent.

Dental Care – Related Fear and Anxiety: An Overview of Present Issues

Though studied for many decades, the understanding of fear and anxiety related to the dental care experience and dental treatment utilization has been hindered in part by overly general and imprecise terminology and conceptualizations.

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‘Fear and anxiety toward both the dentist and dental treatment are significant characteristics that contribute to the avoidance of dental treatment.’

Organized by Cameron Randall of the University of Washington School of Dentistry, it focuses on historical and emerging perspectives on phenomenology and terminology from both dentistry and other health disciplines.

Distinctions between stress, fear, anxiety, and panic were described, and the relevance of these distinctions to fully understanding and intervening in these states in the context of dentistry was discussed.

Drawing on these conceptual issues, the second presentation addressed the assessment of dental care-related fear and anxiety in children and adolescents, describing extant literature and critical future directions for improving science and practice.

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The third presentation highlights the assessment of dental care-related fear and anxiety in adults and older adults, reviewing existing literature and calling out necessary next steps for the field. The symposium closed with a discussion and question-and-answer session facilitated by the presenters.

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Source-Eurekalert

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