Evaluation of anxiety level changes during the first three months of orthodontic treatment

Abstract

ObjectiveTo determine the changes in dental anxiety, state anxiety, and trait anxiety levels of patients and their parents after 3 months of active orthodontic treatment.MethodsWe evaluated 120 patients and one parent of each patient. State Anxiety (STAI-S), Trait Anxiety (STAI-T), and Corah's Dental Anxiety Scale (DAS) were administered before orthodontic treatment (T1) and after 3 months of treatment (T2). Differences in scores between T1 and T2 were compared using paired-sample t-tests and the relationship between the scores of the DAS and the STAI were analyzed using a bivariate two-tailed Pearson correlation test.ResultsDental anxiety and state anxiety levels decreased among the patients after adjustment to orthodontic treatment (p < 0.001). However, 3 months of treatment was not sufficient to decrease the anxiety levels of parents (p > 0.05). Patient trait anxiety affected patient state anxiety and dental anxiety (p < 0.01). Additionally, a significant correlation was found between patient dental anxiety and parent dental anxiety (p < 0.05).ConclusionsDental anxiety and state anxiety levels decrease after patients become familiar with their orthodontist and they became accustomed to orthodontic treatment. However, 3 months is not a sufficient length of time to decrease parental anxiety levels.

Does audiovisual information affect anxiety and perceived pain levels in miniscrew application? — a within-person randomized controlled trial

“…Many authors have reported that dental anxiety [23] or state anxiety [24] is more common in women than men. In contrast, other studies have shown no relationship between gender and dental or state/trait anxiety levels [11, 13, 14]. These conflicting findings may be associated with cultural differences among the study populations.…”

“…Previous research reported that state anxiety levels in patients awaiting orthodontic treatment are high, but normalize within the first year [13]. Yildirim et al [14] stated that patients’ dental anxiety and state anxiety scores were high before orthodontic treatment, but decreased after 3 months as patients became familiar with their orthodontists and orthodontic treatments. In contrast, a previous study reported that patients who had been treated with extra-oral orthodontic appliances for one year had higher state anxiety levels [15].…”

Comparison of personality traits, attitude toward orthodontic treatment, and pain perception and experience before and after orthodontic treatment

“…The improvement of the personality scores may be linked to the decline in dental anxiety levels when the patients become familiar with their orthodontist and get used to the orthodontic appliance. 24 In this study, the average attitude toward orthodontic treatment improved after patients with a positive attitude toward orthodontic treatment received their orthodontic treatment. This result was in agreement with that of Bos et al 7 who reported that positive attitude was increased in treated patients compared to untreated ones.…”

Evaluation of Dental Anxiety in Parents Accompanying their Children for Dental Treatment

“…2,17 There was no statistically significant difference in the anxiety levels of fathers and mothers in the present study which is in agreement to the findings of Sari et al 19 and Ersin and Seniz. 20 Parents' perception of dental appointments being unpleasant may be passed onto children. An assessment of parents fear prior to child's dental treatment may help the clinician in modifying behavior management strategies.…”