Abdul Razaq Malik, Syed Akhtar Hussain Bokhari, Agha Mohammad Suhail, Mian Farrukh Imran, Syed Ameer Hamza.
Dental Anxiety Among Patients Attending A Periodontal Clinic: A Cross Sectional Analysis.
J Pak Dent Assoc Jan ;23(3):112-6.

OBJECTIVE: Dental anxiety and fear are significant factors that deter patients from having dental care at a proper time. No study has reported its status in Pakistan. The aim of this study was to investigate dental anxiety among patients attending a periodontal clinic in a dental hospital in Pakistan. METHODOLOGY: All patients attending the periodontal clinic in Margalla dental hospital during 1st to 30th June 2013 were interviewed for their dental anxiety status. Dental anxiety was assessed through Corah’s dental anxiety scale (Q1-4). Five response levels of anxiety were compared among genders and age-groups. Chi-square test and regression analysis were applied for statistical association of the variables at the level of 0.050. RESULTS: Two hundred subjects with a mean age of 39.2± 15.0 participated in this study. The highest percentage of the participants (44%) were in lowest income group (Rs. 5000/-), 41% were in service and 84.5% of the subjects were from urban locations. Females were found to be significantly (p>0.004) more dentally anxious than males. Subjects age-groups (>/<34 years) showed no statistical (>0.059) difference for anxiety levels. In step wise regression analysis, only gender showed significant association with all the dental anxiety scales (p<0.041). Correlation analysis showed significant association of gender with Q1, 3, and 4 and age with Q3 and Q4. CONCLUSIONS: Dental anxiety was prevalent among majority of the study participants and showed a significant association with female gender, but no statistically significant relationship was noted with the other demographic factors in this study sample.

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