Anxiety in patients attending dental university clinics

• Autor(a) principal: Oliveira, Carla de Souza
• Data de Publicação: 2018
• Outros Autores: Souza, Oldeir Digno Ribeiro de, Dias, Alexa Magalhães, Galdino, Tuélita Marques, Ferreira, Raquel Conceição, Magalhães, Cláudia Silami de
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Revista da ABENO (Online)
• Texto Completo: https://revabeno.emnuvens.com.br/revabeno/article/view/799
• topic: Dental Anxiety. Dental Care. Dental Clinics. Oral Health.; Ansiedade ao Tratamento Odontológico. Assistência Odontológica. Clínicas Odontológicas. Saúde Bucal.

This study aimed to investigate anxiety in patients attended at a university dental clinic. The present cross-sectional study included 49 patients recruited at the undergraduate dental clinics, Federal University of Juiz de Fora, Governador Valadares campus, Minas Gerais, Brazil, from September 2016 to August 2017. Information regarding gender, age, family income, educational level, frequency of dental consultations and dental procedure causing discomfort were collected using a questionnaire. The level of anxiety was evaluated by the Dental Anxiety Scale. A mild level of anxiety (median=6) was observed, with a minimum level of 4 (not anxious) and a maximum level of 19 (extremely anxious). Women had higher anxiety than men (p=0.047). Individuals with 9-11 years of schooling presented a lower level of dental anxiety than those with 0-8 years of schooling (p=0.025). Participants who attributed a greater discomfort to surgeries and the use of high-speed burs had a greater anxiety (p=0.002). Light anxiety is present in patients undergoing dental treatment in university clinics, and women are more anxious than men. Patients with higher education were less anxious than lower education level. The report of a greater discomfort with surgeries and procedures with high-speed burs were associated with a greater anxiety.