Prevalence of dental fear and anxiety amongst patients in selected dental clinics in Ghana

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Abstract
Objective To find out the prevalence of dental anxiety and fear amongst patients in various selected dental clinics in Accra, Ghana. Study design Dental patients ( n = 279) who had either been exposed to dental treatments or had no prior dental exposure, attending four selected dental clinics in Accra were randomly sampled. They were interviewed with the Modified Dental Anxiety Scale (MDAS) used to evaluate dental anxiety, and the Dental Fear Survey (DFS) used to measure dental fear among the respondents. Results A high level of dental anxiety was found in 13.6 per cent of the study sample, while 47.3 per cent were fearful of various dental treatments. Female patients recorded a higher DFS score than males (22.84 ± 9.87 and 19.7 ± 8.15 respectively). The MDAS showed a significant difference between the sexes (X2 = 6.912, p = 0.032). The DFS showed a significant difference (F = 2.56, p = 0.039) existing within the age group, with the younger age group showing the highest DFS value. There was no significant difference between the mean scores of the MDAS and the DFS of the study group with regard to educational level. Previous dental experience did not have any impact on fear or anxiety levels ( p > 0.05) Conclusions Dental anxiety and fear has been found to be high amongst dental patients in Ghana. Females are more likely to report higher dental anxiety and fear scores than males. Dental surgeons and the whole dental team should be made aware of this situation and the appropriate treatment plan created for an anxious or fearful patient.

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