International Journal of Dental Sciences

Authors
Srinivasan, P Lakshmi Prasanna, Peddengatagri Suresh

Abstract
Background: Dental fear (DF) is a challenging problem in Pediatric dentistry and poses a severe problem in rendering treatment to the child. Therefore, identifying fearful children is of great importance as they present problems in patient management which will eventually affect the quality of dental treatment. Aim: To evaluate dental fear and anxiety among children using fear measurement scales. Methods and Materials: A questionnaire compiling Children's Fear Survey Schedule-Dental Subscale (CFSS-DS) were distributed to a total of 392 children, age between 10 to 14 years visiting hospitals and clinics. Children who scored more significant than 38 were included in the 'with dental fear' group and those who scored less than 38 were assigned to the 'without dental fear' group. Collected data were analyzed and tabulated. Results: Total CFSS-DS scores were calculated, and the relationship between socio-demographic variables and anxiety level was determined. The CFSS-DS mean total score was 44.3 ± 16.48 in males, and 48.1 ± 15.42 in females. Fear scores were highest for 'injections', 'choking', 'noise of dentist drilling', 'dentist drilling which was not significant between boys and girls but item, 'having somebody look at you' showed that significant differences in fear scores between boys and girls in the present study. Conclusion: The assessment of dental fear is a handy tool to identify and manage children with dental fear and anxiety. There is a need for further research to form better measurements for assessing dental fear and anxiety for understanding and management of both the patients and dentists.