www.sbdmj.com - Stomatologija - Baltic Dental and Maxillofacial Journal

Stomatologija 2019; 21 (2): 42-6 202 KB

Dental anxiety and self-perceived stress in Lithuanian University of Health sciences hospital patients. A cross-sectional study

Ignas Barauskas¹, Kamilė Barauskienė², Gintaras Janužis¹

Summary

Objectives. Dental anxiety is a serious problem that influences both mental and physical patient’s health. Earlier studies have associated it with avoidance of dental visits and poor oral health. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of dental anxiety in a Lithuanian population and investigate its association with perceived stress as well as demographic factors and dental-anxiety-inducing stimuli.

Material and methods. This study was based on a face-to-face questionnaire consisting of DAS (Dental Anxiety Scale), PSS (Perceived Stress Scale) and an author questionnaire about specific dental-anxiety-inducing stimuli. Based on the questionnaires, a fear score (FS) was calculated for each respondent. Bivariate logistic regression was used to determine associations between DAS, PSS, and FS.

Results. In total 431 patients took part in the study. The mean DAS score was 9.59. Higher perceived stress was associated with age, sex, marital status, income, and weekly hours of work. A positive correlation was found between PSS and DAS scores. A positive correlation was found between FS sum and PSS score. Women had a higher average FS sum than men.

Conclusion. This study revealed that dental anxiety is still highly prevalent, as almost half of the study population had some level of dental anxiety. As this study shows that perceived stress plays a significant role in dental anxiety, dentists should take special care when working with patients that may be experiencing higher levels stress.

Key words: dental anxiety, Lithuania, stress.

Received: 05 04 2016

Accepted for publishing: 21 06 2019

¹Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Medical Academy, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, Lithuania

²Department of Dental and Maxillofacial Orthopedics, Medical Academy, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, Lithuania

Address correspondence to Ignas Barauskas, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Medical Academy, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Eivenių str. 2, 50009, Kaunas, Lithuania.

E-mail: ignas.barauskas1@gmail.com



	Baltic Dental and Maxillofacial Journal

June, 2019, Vol. 21, No. 2 CONTENTS REVIEWS The topical effect of chlorhexidine and povidone-iodine in the repair of oral wounds. A review Dieni da Silveira Teixeira, Maria Antonia Zancanaro de Figueiredo, Karen Cherubini, Sílvia Dias de Oliveira, Fernanda Gonçalves Salum 35-41 SCIENTIFIC ARTICLES Dental anxiety and self-perceived stress in Lithuanian University of Health sciences hospital patients. A cross-sectional study Ignas Barauskas, Kamilė Barauskienė, Gintaras Janužis 42-46 Effects of fruit drinks on surface roughness of two esthetic restorative materials Faika Y. Abdelmegid, Fouad S. Salama, Mohammad M. Al-Jameel, Talal T. Al-Rasheed, Mohamed A. El-Sharawy 47-52 CASE REPORT Diagnostic sequence for early diagnosis of neurofibromatosis type 1 using NIH criteria Tiago Novaes Pinheiro, Fernanda Vicioni-Marques, Flavio Tendolo Fayad, Pedro Henrique Ribeiro Arantes, Juliana Arid, Mariana de Oliveira Daltoé, Fabio Marinho Furtado, Fabrício Kitazono de Carvalho 53-56 Mandibular buccal bifurcation cyst: Case report and literature review Larissa Porto Lima, Henrique Côrtes Meira, Tânia Mara Pimenta Amaral, Patrícia Carlos Caldeira, Evandro Neves Abdo, Cláudia Borges Brasileiro 57-61 Prosthetic solution for fixed full-arch maxillary prosthesis with implant divergent parallelism greater than 45°. A case report Gustavo Frainer Barbosa, Daniele Pereira Dotto 62-64 © 2019 Stomatologija		Stomatologija 2019; 21 (2): 42-6 202 KB Dental anxiety and self-perceived stress in Lithuanian University of Health sciences hospital patients. A cross-sectional study Ignas Barauskas¹, Kamilė Barauskienė², Gintaras Janužis¹ Summary Objectives. Dental anxiety is a serious problem that influences both mental and physical patient’s health. Earlier studies have associated it with avoidance of dental visits and poor oral health. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of dental anxiety in a Lithuanian population and investigate its association with perceived stress as well as demographic factors and dental-anxiety-inducing stimuli. Material and methods. This study was based on a face-to-face questionnaire consisting of DAS (Dental Anxiety Scale), PSS (Perceived Stress Scale) and an author questionnaire about specific dental-anxiety-inducing stimuli. Based on the questionnaires, a fear score (FS) was calculated for each respondent. Bivariate logistic regression was used to determine associations between DAS, PSS, and FS. Results. In total 431 patients took part in the study. The mean DAS score was 9.59. Higher perceived stress was associated with age, sex, marital status, income, and weekly hours of work. A positive correlation was found between PSS and DAS scores. A positive correlation was found between FS sum and PSS score. Women had a higher average FS sum than men. Conclusion. This study revealed that dental anxiety is still highly prevalent, as almost half of the study population had some level of dental anxiety. As this study shows that perceived stress plays a significant role in dental anxiety, dentists should take special care when working with patients that may be experiencing higher levels stress. Key words: dental anxiety, Lithuania, stress. Received: 05 04 2016 Accepted for publishing: 21 06 2019 ¹Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Medical Academy, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, Lithuania ²Department of Dental and Maxillofacial Orthopedics, Medical Academy, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, Lithuania Address correspondence to Ignas Barauskas, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Medical Academy, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Eivenių str. 2, 50009, Kaunas, Lithuania. E-mail: ignas.barauskas1@gmail.com