No abstract

Dental treatment is often associated with pain, fear, and anxiety. Unfortunately, children with dental anxiety tend to resist dental treatment and behave uncooperatively during dental procedures. Dental treatment is known to be stressful and is often associated with a physiological response; therefore, dental anxiety can lead to physiological changes in the body, including increases in the respiratory rate, heart rate, and blood pressure. The psychophysiological response due to dental anxiety is related to an increase in autonomic nervous system activity. Anxiety is a basic emotion resulting from individual's defense mechanisms; therefore, the respiratory changes in an anxiety response are controlled by the brain center that is related to emotion. Respiration is regulated mainly in the brainstem, but complex interactions between the brainstem, limbic system, and cortical structure of the brain affect the final output of respiration. The amygdala, part of the limbic system, is responsible for processing negative emotions; therefore, measuring physiological responses, such as the respiratory rate, plays an important role in behavioral assessment. This paper presents the respiratory rate as one of the physiological responses to dental anxiety.