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Dental anxiety: understanding is the key to effective management Farooq Ahmed Imran A Quddus Mohammad O Sharif Khaleel Ahmed Dental Update 2024 43:9, 707-709.
Authors
FarooqAhmed
BDS(Hons), MFDS RCSEdin, MSc, MOrth RCSEng
Post CCST Orthodontics, Barts and the London Dental Hospital, (farooq.ahmed@postgrad.manchester.ac.uk)
Dental anxiety (DA) is a common problem; the latest Adult Dental Health Survey (UK) reported nearly half of the adult population experienced anxiety when visiting the dentist. Given individual differences in the experience of dental anxiety, it is important for the dentist to understand its development, detection and management. This article aims to provide an overview of the main psychological theories to explain the development of dental anxiety (behavioural, psychoanalytical and cognitive), as well as an overview of anxiety detection and management techniques from a psychological perspective.
CPD/Clinical Relevance: Dental anxiety is a common barrier to oral healthcare, with nearly half of the UK population affected. By understanding its causes, effective management can reduce anxiety, and therefore barriers to achieving high standards of oral health can be overcome.
Article
Dental Anxiety (DA) affects nearly half of the adult population in the UK,1 and has been defined as distress or uneasiness of mind caused by fear of danger or misfortune: importantly this is different from phobia which is irrational fear that leads to compelling desire to avoid the situation.
Historically, anxiety associated with dentistry has been related to the expectation of pain.2 However, despite advances in pain control, DA management techniques and the advent of ‘preventive dentistry’ (that should now form the core of modern day treatment plans), DA is still a significant barrier to dental care for an unchanged proportion of the population.3,4,5,6,7 Moderate to severe dental anxiety affects 75% of 12-year-olds and 49% of adults.1,8 Individuals who are dentally anxious innately avoid dental care; 41% of irregular attendees attribute their attendance patterns to DA.6 Consequently, clinicians experience on average two weeks of failed attendance per year due to failed appointments.9
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