Shahab Adil, Khalid Hassan Khan, Kawish Syed.
Dental phobia among orthodontic patients.
Pak Oral Dental J Jan ;35(4):620-2.

A Phobia is an intense, unpleasant feeling which may prohibit patients from orthodontic treatment. To evaluate different types of dental phobia in patients undergoing orthodontic treatment. Descriptive cross- sectional study. Peshawar Dental College Hospital, Peshawar. Duration of study was from August, 2014 to February, 2015. Both males and females reporting for orthodontic treatment that consented to participate in the study were included. All patients were interviewed regarding their fears about the said treatment using structured questionnaire. The information was classified into 3 groups as strongly phobic, moderate phobic and not phobic. A total of 110 patients were selected for the study. Strong phobia was observed in 56 %, moderate in 18 % whereas 26 % were not having phobia. Besides, dental phobia was same at different stages of treatment, higher in the adolescent age and more in females as compared to males. Confidence to ask questions from the dentists was observed in 20 % patients. Eighty percent patients were satisfied from the attitude and way of treatment of the orthodontists. Orthodontists should recognize the existence of dental phobia in patients coming for treatment. To reduce phobia, they need to develop skill to communicate effectively with the patients before undertaking any treatment.

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