Dental fear and anxiety among dental and medical students of Babol University of Medical Sciences

Dental fear and anxiety among dental and medical students of Babol University of Medical Sciences Dr. M. Ghasempoor* - Dr. A. Haddadi** *- Assistant Professor of Pedodontics Dept. - Faculty of Dentistry - Babol University of Medical Sciences. **- Dentist. Background and Aim: Dental anxiety is a major problem among patients and dentists leading to treatment disruption. The aim of this study was to determine dental fear and anxiety level among dental and medical students of Babol University of Medical Sciences. Materials and Methods: This cross – sectional descriptive – analytical study was carried out on 412 medical and dental students, Babol University of Medical Sciences using standardized questionnaires of DAS (Dental Anxiety Scale) and DFS (Dental Fear Scale). DAS and DFS scores along with information about age, sex, course of study, year of university enterance and history of dental office admission were analyzed by SPSS software, ANOVA and t tests. Results: Out of 296 (71.8%) medical students and 116 (28.2%) dental, 261 (63.3%) were males and 151 (36.7%) were females. The means of DAS and DFS scores were 8.03±3.73 and 34.13±16.75, respectively. Dental anxiety was reported among 54 (13.3%) students. The mean of dental anxiety score (DAS) in females and males were 8.59±3.99 and 7.03±2.95, respectively (P=0.000) and 8.2±3.82 and 7.61±3.46 (P=0.135) in medical and dental students, respectively. The mean of dental fear score in females and males were 35±17.94 and 31.99±15.29 (P=0.112), respectively. Injection and needle were reported as the most prevalent fear reasons. Conclusion: Dental fear and anxiety are not prevalent among students and not influenced by course of study and history of dental office admission, however they are affected by sex and university grade. Key words: Anxiety – Fear – Dentistry – Student – DAS – DFS.