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BMC Oral Health
Published in: BMC Oral Health 1/2021

Open Access 01-12-2021 | Nausea | Research

Psychometric evaluation of the Lebanese Arabic version of the Dental Fear Survey: a cross-sectional study

Authors: Hiba Kassem El Hajj, Youssef Fares, Linda Abou-Abbas

Published in: BMC Oral Health | Issue 1/2021

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Abstract

Background

Dental fear is a prevalent problem that can lead to poor dental health. The Kleinknecht’s Dental Fear Survey (DFS) is one of the used scales to assess dental fear. The present study aims to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Lebanese Arabic version of the DFS (DFS-A) and to determine the optimal cut-off to identify dental fear as well as the correlates of dental fear in a group of Lebanese adults dental patients.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted among a group of 442 dental patients (18–65 years) recruited at 29 dental clinics from March to June 2019. Patients completed a questionnaire including questions about demographic characteristics, previous bad dental experience, trauma’s experience period, the sensation of nausea during dental treatment, the DFS-A scale, the Lebanese Arabic version of the Modified Dental Anxiety Scale (MDAS-A), and a general question about dental fear.

Results

DFS-A revealed evidence of adequate psychometric properties. DFS-A scale demonstrated high internal consistency (cronbach’s alpha = 0.93). Test–retest reliability assessment demonstrated strong reproducibility of the DFS-A scale score (ICC = 0.92 with 95% CI (0.83–0.96), p value < 0.0001 (N = 30). Confirmatory factor analysis revealed a three-factor structure of the DFS-A reflecting fear associated with specific dental stimuli and procedures, patterns of dental avoidance and anticipatory anxiety, and physiologic arousal during dental treatment. A significant correlation was found between DFS-A and the MDAS-A indicating a good convergent validity. The optimal cut-off point to identify patients with and without dental fear is 41. Considering this cut-off score, the prevalence of dental fear in our sample was reported at 33.8%. Multivariable analysis showed that having previous scary and painful dental experiences, a sensation of nausea during treatment, and having dental anxiety were identified as predictors of dental fear.

Conclusion

The adapted Arabic version of the DFS (DFS-A) is a valid tool to evaluate dental fear among Lebanese adult patients.
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Metadata
Title
Psychometric evaluation of the Lebanese Arabic version of the Dental Fear Survey: a cross-sectional study
Authors
Hiba Kassem El Hajj
Youssef Fares
Linda Abou-Abbas
Publication date
01-12-2021
Publisher
BioMed Central
Keywords
Nausea
Anxiety
Published in
BMC Oral Health / Issue 1/2021
Electronic ISSN: 1472-6831
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12903-021-02015-y

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