Dental Anxiety Level among Patients Visiting a Private Dental Hospital in Chennai: A Cross Sectional Study

Abstract

Introduction: Anxiety and fear towards dental treatment are common problems experienced by patients worldwide.Dental anxiety is a state of unpleasant feeling and it is anticipatory in nature,the intensity varies from person to person. The aim of this study is to evaluate the anxiety level among patients visiting a private dental hospital.

Materials and Methods: A total sample of 150 outpatients visiting a private dental hospital were included in the study. This cross sectional study was conducted in February 2021. A pre-tested structured questionnaire with 5 questions was distributed to assess the prevalence of anxiety among out patients.Corah’s dental anxiety scale a novel method for calculation was used to test the level of anxiety among patients. The statistics were computed with the SPSS version 23.0 software. Chi square test was used for assessment. A P value <0.05 was considered statistically significant

Results: From the analysis there was a significant relationship between gender and dental anxiety,previous visits and dental anxiety. Women (52.78%) had moderate levels of dental anxiety than males(33.33%). Out of the total, 42.67% had moderate levels of dental anxiety,which indicated the prevalence of dental anxiety among the patient population. P value obtained was 0.019 and chi square value 11.780. With a p value (<0.05) the result obtained is statistically significant.

Conclusion: According to the study, there is a moderate level of dental anxiety among out patients,while severe levels are rare. Women tend to be more anxious than men.The development of dental anxiety can be minimised with pain control,behaviour management and consideration of the patient as a whole.Inclusion of behavioural science in dental curriculum in the field of dental education could improve this scenario.