Dental anxiety among Bangladeshi patients: a cross-sectional study

Liza  Akter; Kamal Uddin Ahmed  Chowdhury

doi:10.3329/brc.v11i2.82641

Authors

Liza Akter Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh
Kamal Uddin Ahmed Chowdhury Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3329/brc.v11i2.82641

Keywords:

dental anxiety, prevalence, associated factors, Bangladesh

Abstract

Background: A significant portion of patients are suffering from dental anxiety all around the world. Dental anxiety is often a barrier for many patients for not taking treatment. It causes a huge discomfort in patients, often results in missing, delaying or cancelling dental appointments, and so impacts on the overall quality of life of a person. Objective: The main objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of dental anxiety and associated factors among dental patients in Bangladesh. Methods: This cross-sectional study utilized the validated Bangla Modified Dental Anxiety Scale (BMDAS). The BMDAS consists of five questions to assess dental anxiety. Data were collected from government settings hospitals. Results: Data were collected from 311 dental patients. It was found that 23.5% of the patients were experiencing dental anxiety. Predictors of dental anxiety among study participants were age, educational qualification, and past dental visits. Younger patients (M = 14.38, SD = 5.62) have been found to have more dental anxiety (p <0.05) than the older patients (M = 12.50, SD = 5.06). Patients (M = 15.89, SD = 5.65) who never visited dentists reported higher level of dental anxiety (P<0.001) than those (M = 12.67, SD = 5.10) who had the experience of dental visit previously and patients’ dental anxiety was found more on tooth drill and local anaesthetic issues rather than others. Conclusion: The findings of the study will help to make a proper assessment as well as treatment plan among the anxious patients and so to improve their overall quality of life.

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