Links Between Dental Anxiety and Preventive Dental Care: A Cross-Sectional Study in an Oral Surgery Practice

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Abstract

Background/Objectives: Dental anxiety has been demonstrated to exert a significant influence on the frequency of treatment, the degree of patient compliance, and the long-term implications for oral health. The objective of this study was to evaluate the extent of dental anxiety experienced by patients attending an oral surgery practice in Germany. In addition, the study sought to assess their preventive dental behaviour and to explore any potential associations between anxiety levels and the utilisation of preventive care services. Methods: The present study comprised 102 consecutive adult outpatients from a private oral surgery practice. The assessment of dental anxiety was conducted using the Corah’s Dental Anxiety Scale (DAS). The behaviour of the subjects in relation to preventative dental care was measured using a series of six standardised items, including the frequency of tooth brushing, tartar removal, and professional tooth cleaning. The data analysis comprised descriptive statistics, chi-square (χ2) tests, multiple linear regression, and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). Results: The mean DAS score was 12.69 (SD = 3.36). According to the DAS classification system, 28.4% of patients reported low anxiety, 50.0% moderate anxiety, and 21.6% high dental anxiety. Regression analysis explained 10% of the variance in DAS scores (R2 = 0.128, adj. R2 = 0.100). The analysis revealed that age (β = −0.218, p = 0.035) and lower educational level (β = −0.357, p < 0.001) were associated with higher anxiety scores, whereas sex was not a significant predictor. Preventive dental behaviour, encompassing practices such as tooth brushing, professional tooth cleaning, and tartar removal, did not exhibit significant disparities across anxiety groups (all p > 0.05). Conclusions: While dental anxiety was prevalent among the patient sample, it did not exert a significant influence on preventive dental behaviours. However, patients with lower levels of education and younger age exhibited higher dental anxiety scores. These findings underscore the necessity for targeted educational and preventive strategies in patients with elevated dental anxiety.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Article number86
JournalOral
Volume5
Issue number4
Publication statusPublished - Dec 2025
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

ORCID /0009-0008-3131-8325/work/196695680
unpaywall 10.3390/oral5040086
Mendeley 9ddf3bf5-a5f2-3c6b-8693-3bb637f085c6
Scopus 105025693325

Keywords

Sustainable Development Goals

Keywords

  • health behavior, oral health, dental anxiety, preventive behavior