Dental Fear and Associated Factors among Children and Adolescents: A School-Based Study in Lithuania

Abstract

Dental fear is a challenging problem in dentistry and many contributing factors have been identified. Although this problem among children and adolescents has been studied in the literature for a long time, few such studies have been conducted in Lithuania. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of dental fear and examine its association with gender, age and several psychological and social factors among children and adolescents in Lithuania. The cross-sectional survey included a randomly selected sample (n = 1590) of children aged 11–14 and adolescents aged 15–18. The data were supplemented by interviewing the parents of these subjects (n = 1399). Dental fear was measured with a single five-score question. The data collection also included questions on oral health, socioeconomic status, oral health-related quality of life and self-esteem. Poisson regression analysis was used to assess the association between perception of dental fear and potential predictor variables. It was found that 32.2% (95% CI: 29.9–34.4%) of children and adolescents reported no fear of dental treatment, 12.5% (10.8–14.2%) of their peers were highly afraid of dental treatment, and other subjects assessed their dental fear gradually. Girls reported greater dental fear scores than boys, but the level of dental fear did not depend on the age. We identified the groups of subjects by gender and age, and a higher level of dental fear was significantly associated with untreated caries experience, a delay in the age of the subject’s first visit to the dentist, low self-esteem, low oral health-related quality of life, low overall life satisfaction and low family affluence. The results also suggested that dental fear could originate from previous toothache, dentists’ actions, high sensitivity in the child and poor psychological readiness for treatment. It was concluded that dental fear among Lithuanian children and adolescents is a common problem that is associated with gender and several dental, psychological and social factors. The findings indicate that school-based health policies, paediatric dentists and parents should be encouraged to focus on the psychosocial factors associated with dental fear because most of them can be prevented.

The Relationship between Dental Fear and Anxiety, General Anxiety/Fear, Sensory Over-Responsivity, and Oral Health Behaviors and Outcomes: A Conceptual Model

“…Seventy-nine studies examined the relationship between DFA and oral health ( n = 41 pediatric, n = 38 adult). A significant association was found between high DFA and poor oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL), a multidimensional measure evaluating oral health status and its related functional and psychosocial impacts [ 87 ], in children [ 88 , 89 , 90 , 91 , 92 ] as well as adults [ 93 , 94 , 95 , 96 , 97 , 98 , 99 , 100 , 101 , 102 ]. Significant relationships were also reported between high levels of DFA and measures of poor oral health (e.g., caries experience, gingival health, and toothbrushing frequency) in children [ 3 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 17 , 50 , 51 , 53 , 103 , 104 , 105 , 106 , 107 , 108 , 109 , 110 , 111 , 112 , 113 , 114 , 115 , 116 , 117 , 118 , 119 , 120 , 121 , 122 ] and adults [ 4 , 61 , 65 ,…”

Relationship between Children’s and Parents’ Dental Anxiety: A Cross-Sectional Study on the Six European Countries

“…Before coming to the office, the parents have to prepare the child for treatment by following the advice of the dentist. In this way—with parental preparation at home and the application of methods of shaping behavior in the office—the child is gradually prepared for any planned procedure without the development of dental fear and anxiety [ 10 , 35 ]. With this research, we have shown that dental anxiety is high in the area of southeast Europe.…”

Web-Based Interventions Reduced Dental Anxiety among Adults in Lithuania and Norway: A Pilot Study

“…Dental anxiety (DA) is a public health issue [ 1 ] as DA, in varying degrees, impacts oral health. For instance, patients’ oral health status, oral health-related quality of life, self-esteem, and oral health behaviors [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]. Globally, DA among adults is prevalent [ 7 ].…”

“…In Lithuania, the prevalence of DA among adults is unknown. A recent study showed that 68% of 15–18-year-old adolescents reported being afraid of or concerned about dental treatment, and out of them, 13% had severe DA [ 2 ].…”