• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
• /
• v.6 no.4
• /
• pp.419-436
• /
• 2006

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to explore dental hygiene treatment fear and anxiety in dental patients. METHODS: The sample consisted of 466 dental patients who had received the dental hygiene treatment at 8 Dental Hospitals and Clinics in Daegu city between March and August 2006 studied. Dental hygienists recruited a questionnaire, which includes generalized anxiety sub-scale(4 items), specific fear sub-scale(5 items), distrust sub-scale(5 items), and catastrophic anxiety sub-scale(4 items). Minimum score is 1, and maximum score is 5. The research was designed to be a cross-sectional measured study. SAS statistical software was used for the analysis. The characteristics of the study sample were described by mean and standard deviation(SD) for continuous variables and by frequency and percentage for categorical variables. The Student's t-test and analysis of variance(ANOVA) were used to compare fear and anxiety score in demographic variables. A Pearson's correlation analysis was conducted for relationship among values of fear and anxiety for dental hygiene. Multiple regression analysis was performed to determine the factors associated with fear and anxiety related with dental hygiene. RESULTS: A total of 466 dental patients were analyzed, their average age${\pm}$SD was $37.7{\pm}12.9$ years(range: 15-79 yr). The mean value for dental hygiene fear and anxiety was 2.70(generalized anxiety 2.65, specific fear 2.93, distrust anxiety 2.72, and catastrophic anxiety 2.42, respectively). There was a statistically significant difference in gender(p<0.05), 2.81 for women was higher than 2.55 for men(p=.0000). The older we are, the higher fear and anxiety for dental hygiene treatment were. that is, under age of 20 years 2.49, 20 years 2.59, 30 years 2.69, 40 years 2.77, 50 years 2.88, 60 years 2.69, and over age of 70 2.45, respectively(p=.0321). Factors related to dental hygiene treatment fear and anxiety by multiple regressions were gender(${\square}$=0.18, p=0.0001), age(${\square}$=.07, p=.0058), and the time when visits dentist recently(${\square}$=.07, p=.0058). CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, gender, age and the time when visits dentist recently were significantly associated with dental hygiene treatment fear and anxiety. We recommend that further research should investigate a dental hygiene treatment fear and anxiety by using more follow-up study.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
• /
• v.24 no.4
• /
• pp.353-360
• /
• 2024

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the effects of conscious sedation on patient satisfaction with dental treatment. Methods: The survey included questions on the patients' general characteristics, dental treatment fear, anxiety, and satisfaction, and patient evaluation by an observer. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS 20.0 ver. and data were analyzed using frequency analysis, independent t-test, Pearson's correlation coefficient, and multilinear regression analysis. Results: Patients who received conscious sedation therapy showed significantly lower levels of dental fear and anxiety, whereas their dental treatment satisfaction was significantly higher than that of patients who received regular dental treatment (p<0.05). Dental treatment fear, anxiety, satisfaction, and conscious sedation depth were significantly correlated in patients who received conscious sedation therapy (p<0.05). Factors influencing dental treatment satisfaction included age, weight, use of medication, smoking habits, use of conscious sedation therapy, dental treatment fear and anxiety, and conscious sedation depth (p<0.05). Conclusions: Conscious sedation therapy can be an effective method to reduce dental treatment fear and anxiety and improve patient satisfaction.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
• /
• v.13 no.4
• /
• pp.645-650
• /
• 2013

Objectives : The aim of this study is to investigate dental clinic fear and anxiety in high school students. Methods : The subjects were 311 high school students aged 19 years. They completed self-reported questionnaire including general characteristics, dental clinic experiences, dentist or dental hygienist confidence, and dental fear. Data were analyzed using SPSS 18.0. Results : Poor oral health status showed negative attitude towards dental clinic visit. Girl students tended to have more fear than boy students. Muscle tension was the most common experience and was closely related to anesthetic needles and drills. Dental anxiety was caused by lack of confidence to dentists and dental hygienists. Students were more afraid of dentists than dental hygienists. Higher score of dental anxiety seemed to be associated with infrequent visit to dental clinic. Conclusions : Frequent regular dental checkup may reduce dental fear and anxiety. Dental clinic staff should try to minimize dental anxiety in performing treatment.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Dental Administration
• /
• v.11 no.1
• /
• pp.89-95
• /
• 2023

Social phobia is a mental disorder that triggers physical reactions, such as cold sweats, headaches, and panic attacks, as a result of anxiety about a particular situation. Individuals with social phobia are thought to be more sensitive to dental anxiety and may have difficulty visiting the dentist as a result. This study aimed to determine the relationship between social phobia and dental fear among college students, who are reported to have a high prevalence of social phobia. A total of 120 survey responses were analyzed. To investigate the variation in dental fear levels based on the level of social phobia, the total social phobia score was divided into two groups: 41 points or more, and 40 points or less. The disparity in dental fear scores was then analyzed using a t-test. The study found that the average score for dental fear was statistically significantly higher in the group with a total social phobia score of 41 points or more compared to the group with a total score of 40 points or less (p<0.05). Furthermore, the group that scored 41 points or higher on the social phobia scale reported experiencing symptoms such as feeling nauseous at the dentist (3.29 points), sweating upon entering the dentist (3.13 points), and feeling afraid when looking at the dentist (3.13 points). The score was high (p<0.05). Therefore, dental patients exhibiting anxiety symptoms require a comfortable treatment environment to alleviate dental fear, and safe, pain-free dental treatment techniques must be employed.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
• /
• v.15 no.5
• /
• pp.777-786
• /
• 2015

Objectives: The purpose of the study was to investigate the influencing factors on anxiety and depression before and after prosthetic treatment in the patients. Methods: A self-reported questionnaire was completed by 248 patients with tooth loss and over 20 years old. The questionnaire was carried out before and after oral examination and dental prosthetic treatment from July to December, 2013. The study instruments included Beck's anxiety inventory and self-rating depression scale by Zung. The questionnaire was adapted and modified from Kwon's anxiety inventory and Lee's depression scale. Results: While the anxiety level increased from 69.4% to 78.2% in the normal people, the depression level changed from 53.2% to 64.1% in the normal people. The gender variable had a positive effect on anxiety and depression while educational level had a negative effect on them. The dental fear was closely related to anxiety and depression before and after the prosthetic treatment. The entire body health perception showed a negative effect on anxiety and depression. The distrust towards the dentist had an influence on the anxiety and depression in the prosthetic patients. Conclusions: The influencing factors on anxiety and depression in the prosthetic patients included gender, dental fear, entire body perception, and distrust towards the dentist.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
• /
• v.17 no.3
• /
• pp.395-404
• /
• 2017

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to identify the effects of music intervention on the patient's fear and anxiety during scaling. Methods: 360 patients who had visited W University dental hygiene laboratory were selected as study subjects and divided into experiment group and control group. Results: Study results showed that the control group (71.9%) and the experimental group (75.1%) had experiences avoiding dental treatment due to fear. In the control group (37.6%) and experimental group (40.6%), the highest influencing factor was the sound of machine and followed by pain. The experimental group preferred classical music, followed by pop songs, trot music and instrumental music. In the experimental group (83.3%), fear and anxiety were alleviated by music, and 77.9% of the patients mentioned they would recommend music for scaling to other patients. There was an interaction effect (p=0.014) between the groups before and after the measurement of the lowest blood pressure. There was a significant difference in pulse before and after pulse measurement (p=0.000). There was a significant difference in respiration between groups (p=0.042) and before and after respiration (p=0.030). Conclusions: Study results showed that music intervention that utilizes music during scaling showed significant effects on the alleviation of fear and anxiety, affecting Pulse number among vital signs. Therefore, more systematic program is to be required to alleviate dental fear and anxiety with music therapy not only for scaling, but also for dental clinic in the future.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
• /
• v.23 no.4
• /
• pp.255-263
• /
• 2023

Background: This study used text mining techniques to determine public perceptions of dental fear, extracted keywords related to dental fear, identified the connection between the keywords, and categorized and visualized perceptions related to dental fear. Methods: Keywords in texts posted on Internet portal sites (NAVER and Google) between 1 January, 2000, and 31 December, 2022, were collected. The four stages of analysis were used to explore the keywords: frequency analysis, term frequency-inverse document frequency (TF-IDF), centrality analysis and co-occurrence analysis, and convergent correlations. Results: In the top ten keywords based on frequency analysis, the most frequently used keyword was 'treatment,' followed by 'fear,' 'dental implant,' 'conscious sedation,' 'pain,' 'dental fear,' 'comfort,' 'taking medication,' 'experience,' and 'tooth.' In the TF-IDF analysis, the top three keywords were dental implant, conscious sedation, and dental fear. The co-occurrence analysis was used to explore keywords that appear together and showed that 'fear and treatment' and 'treatment and pain' appeared the most frequently. Conclusion: Texts collected via unstructured big data were analyzed to identify general perceptions related to dental fear, and this study is valuable as a source data for understanding public perceptions of dental fear by grouping associated keywords. The results of this study will be helpful to understand dental fear and used as factors affecting oral health in the future.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
• /
• v.15 no.3
• /
• pp.369-376
• /
• 2015

The purposes of this study were to assess dental fear and anxiety level of patients attending a dental clinic using the dental fear survey (DFS) scale, to apply interventions chosen by patients for reducing dental fear and anxiety and measure their effects. This study surveyed 34 patients who visited a dental clinic in Seoul about their self-rated health and their experience of dental fear, and measured the level of dental fear using DFS. Trained dental hygienists applied interventions desired by the patients for reducing dental fear and anxiety and, for each intervention, examined the patients' satisfaction (very helpful [5 point]~not helpful at all [1 point]). Collected data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics ver. 21.0 through independent t-test or one-way ANOVA for difference in level of fear according to related characteristics, and through Wilcoxon signed rank test for comparison between before and after the intervention. The subjects' mean level of fear (DFS score) was 44.53, which was an average level, and the level of dental fear was relatively high for stimulus-response (2.72). The level of dental fear was higher in those who had experienced pains or indirect dental fear from dental treatment in the past, and those whose subjectively perceived health state was poor (p<0.05). With regard to the applied dental fear intervention, 'Helpful (3.57)' was the most common answer. Overall satisfaction before and after the application of dental fear intervention was generally high as 4.37 and 4.35, respectively, but it decreased slightly after the intervention. In order to lower the level of dental fear, it is considered effective to survey not only the level of dental fear but also patients' need of dental fear interventions and to apply a suitable intervention. It is also required to educate dental workers and to develop related manuals.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
• /
• v.14 no.2
• /
• pp.251-259
• /
• 2014

Objectives : The purpose of the study was to investigate the overall research trend and change in dental fear during 9 years(2004-2012) and to identify the major outcomes and future directions to research. Methods : Descriptive literature review was conducted for dental fear in Korea. The research setting should be elementary, middle, high schools and adults. Results : In this study, the literature review of the most used tools to measure fear was that DFS. The most commonly used instrument was Dental Fear Survey(DFS) in the literature review. The number of dacayed tooth was proportional to subjective fear and anxiety. The indirect experience of dental pain was heard from family and friends. So the fear caused the patients to have negative bias toward dental treatment. The negative reliability towards the dentist increased the dental fear to the patients. Conclusions : Through the literature review, dental hygienists are able to understand the dental fear of the patients.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Esthetic Dentistry
• /
• v.28 no.1
• /
• pp.54-60
• /
• 2019

Objective: Dental fear is a feeling of anxiety and fear without intervention during a dental visit, mainly due to past negative dental treatment experiences, and in adults, despite the recognition of the need for dental treatment, it can lead to avoidance of dental treatment, which may cause deterioration of oral health. Therefore, this study was conducted to measure dental fear and anxiety level in some adults, and to identify related factors and their causes. Methods: This study used Kleinknecht's Dental Fear Survey scale and the SPSS 21 program (IBM SPSS Statistics 21) was used for analysis. Result: When the dental fear was the higher, the "access to the dental clinic" was found to be the highest, followed by "sitting in dental unit chair" and "smell of dental clinic" in that order. Conclusions: Dentists and dental hygienists should be able to understand the fear, anxiety, and concerns of the dentist office and to find various ways to provide systematic medical services.