Published in:
01-04-2015 | Original Scientific Article
Anxiety related to dental care in children and adolescents in a low-income Brazilian community
Published in: European Archives of Paediatric Dentistry | Issue 2/2015
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Aim
The aims of this study were to determine the prevalence of anxiety related to dental care and analyse associated factors in children and adolescents in a low-income community in Recife, Brazil.
Study design
A cross-sectional study was conducted with 101 children and adolescents from both genders, aged from 6 to 16 years.
Methods
The dependent variable, anxiety related to dental care, was obtained by the dental anxiety questionnaire (DAQ). The independent variables were: the previous experience, the pain history and DMFT–dmft.
Statistics
Chi square test was performed to analyse the associations. In the multivariate analysis, binary logistic regression was performed.
Results
The probability of females in the sample experiencing anxiety was 3.1 times higher compared to males (OR 3.1 [1.3–7.2]). Children and adolescents who had never visited a dentist showed a level of anxiety 5.6 times higher than those who did (OR 5.6 [1.3–22.7]).
Conclusions
Anxiety related to the dental care presented a prevalence of 36.6 % in a population aged 6–16 years. Females in this group, as well as subjects who had never been to the dentist were more likely to present anxiety.