Procedural pain and anxiety in pediatric patients in a Mexican dental clinic.

BACKGROUND In dental examining rooms, children experience diagnostic and therapeutic pain related to dental procedures that may be associated with anxiety. Therefore, the main objective of the present study was to evaluate anxiety and pain levels related to dental procedures in children. METHODS Children in a Mexican pediatric dental clinic rated their dental anxiety using the Modified Dental Anxiety Scale (MDAS), the Children's Fear Survey Schedule Dental Subscale (CFSS-DS) and a 100-mm Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). Pain was evaluated with the VAS. RESULTS A total of 437 children with a mean age of 9.8 (±2.2) years were evaluated. Four hundred eighty-one dental procedures were completed. The averages in the MDAS and the CFSS-DS were 8.5 (±3.4) and 22.7 (±7.6), respectively. Of all dental procedures, 275 (57.2 %) were rated as stressful prior to their realization, 222 (46.2 %) were stressful during their realization and 175 (36.4 %) were rated as painful. Overall, 12.6 % of the painful events were rated as severe, 25.1 % were rated as moderate, and 62.3 % were rated as slight. CONCLUSION This study provides data on common procedures performed in dental clinics that cause pain and anxiety in children and young adolescents. Dentistry must consider the best non-pharmacological and pharmacological interventions to reduce dental anxiety and pain.