Prevalence of Dental Anxiety among University Students in Islamabad, Pakistan

Objectives: The aims of the current study were to find the prevalence of Dental Anxiety amongst Pakistani University Students and to determine the differences in relation to gender, education and level of dental anxiety. Methods and Materials: A questionnaire consisting Dental Anxiety Scale and Dental Fear Scale describing anxiety-provoking stimuli was constructed and presented to 385 university students. Results: A convenient sample of 11 Universities students (n=385) of Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan was selected for the survey. The survey comprised different questions concerning demographic variables, first dental visit, last dental visit and reasons for avoidance of dental appointment and the level of dental anxiety. The methods of measurement of dental anxiety were 20 questions of Dental Fear Scale and 4 questions of the Corah Dental Anxiety Scale. The results indicated that waiting for the drill in Dental Anxiety Scale was highly prevalent while in Dental Fear Scale the most fear provoking stimuli for university students were items dealing with injection feeling and sight of the needle Females were significantly more likely to report a high dental anxiety compared to males (p < 0.05). The prevalence of high dental anxiety (Phobia) in the sample as measured by the Dental Fear Scale and Dental Anxiety Scale was 21.8% and 21.4% respectively. Conclusions: This study found a relatively high prevalence of dental anxiety and fear which confirm the scope of this problem facing dentists as well as patients. This problem should be addressed by the policy makers to improve the oral health of the population. The present findings support the need for assessment procedures using a broad spectrum of potentially anxiety-provoking stimuli in general population as well.