Original Research Article
Year: 2017 | Month: May | Volume: 7 | Issue: 5 | Pages: 101-104
Dental Anxiety among UQU Dental Clinics Patients
Jaber Al-Zaed1, Saleh Al-ghamdi1, Majed Ibrahim1, Abdel-Rahman Youssef 2
1Post Graduate Student, Community Dentistry Department,
2Assistant Professor in Microbiology & Immunology,
Faculty of Dentistry, Umm Al-Qura University, Saudi Arabia.
Corresponding Author: Abdel-Rahman Youssef
ABSTRACT
Background: Dental anxiety is a common worldwide problem; it may cause treatment difficulties for the dentist, as well as severe consequences for the patient. Pain is the main reason foe seeking dental care. Expressing patient's anxiety appears when the stimulus triggers the reaction of anxiety.
Objective: The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence and causes of dental anxiety in patient attending teaching hospital at Umm Al-Qura University.
Methods: A questionnaire was designed to collect the data from adult dental patient regarding to dental anxiety. We used Modified Dental Anxiety Scale (MDAS) to determine the level of anxiety.
Result: The results showed that 90% of patients were anxious. Anesthesia and drilling were the most common causes for dental anxiety. According to Dental Anxiety Scale we found that 50 % of patients were slightly anxious, 25 % fairly anxious, 14% very anxious, 1% extremely anxious and 10% non-anxious.
Conclusion: The majority of patients were anxious and anesthesia was the major cause of anxiety. Necessary measures are needed to reduce dental anxiety.
Key words: Dental Anxiety, Modified Dental Anxiety Scale (MDAS), Umm Al-Qura University.