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BMC Oral Health
Published in: BMC Oral Health 1/2014

Open Access 01-12-2014 | Research article

The relationship of dental caries and dental fear in Malaysian adolescents: a latent variable approach

Authors: Rashidah Esa, Ai Leng Ong, Gerry Humphris, Ruth Freeman

Published in: BMC Oral Health | Issue 1/2014

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Abstract

Background

To investigate the role of geography (place of residence) as a moderator in the relationship between dental caries disease and treatment experience and dental fear in 16-year-olds living in Malaysia.

Methods

A multi-stage-stratified sampling method was employed. Five hundred and three, 16-year-olds from 6 government secondary schools participated in this study. The questionnaire examined participants’ demographic profile and assessed their dental fear using the Dental Fear Survey (DFS). The clinical examination consisted of the DMFT as the outcome measure of dental caries disease and treatment experience by a single examiner (ICC = 0.98). Structural equation modelling inspected the relationship between dental fear and dental caries disease and treatment experience.

Results

The mean DMFT was 2.76 (SD 3.25). The DT, MT and FT components were 0.64 (SD 1.25), 0.14 (SD 0.56) and 1.98 (SD 2.43) respectively. Rural compared with urban adolescents had significantly greater mean numbers of decayed and missing teeth. The mean DFS score was 40.8 (SD 12.4). Rural compared with urban adolescents had significantly higher mean scores for physical symptoms of dental fear. The correlation between dental fear (DFS) and dental caries disease and treatment experience (DMFT) was 0.29, p < 0.0001. The structural equation model fitted the raw data well (χ 2 = 9.20, df = 8, p = 0.34). All components of DMFT were closely associated in equal strength to the unidimensional hypothetical latent variable of dental caries disease and treatment experience. The strength of the relationship between dental fear and dental caries disease and treatment experience varied in accordance with place of residence.

Conclusion

In conclusion a relationship between dental fear and dental caries disease and treatment experience was shown to exist in 16-year-old adolescents living in Malaysia. This study showed that the rural–urban dichotomy acted as a moderator upon this relationship.
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Metadata
Title
The relationship of dental caries and dental fear in Malaysian adolescents: a latent variable approach
Authors
Rashidah Esa
Ai Leng Ong
Gerry Humphris
Ruth Freeman
Publication date
01-12-2014
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Oral Health / Issue 1/2014
Electronic ISSN: 1472-6831
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6831-14-19

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