To test the Italian translation of Corah's Dental Anxiety Scale (DAS) and to check the relationship between dental anxiety and the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) physical status classification (ASA-PS), the DAS was translated into Italian and administered to 1072 Italian patients (620 male and 452 female patients, ages 14-85 years) undergoing oral surgery. Patients' conditions were checked and rated according to the ASA-PS. The DAS ranged from 4 to 20 (modus=8, median=10); 59.5% of patients had a DAS of 7-12, 26.1% had a DAS>2, and 10.3% had a DAS>15. The mean DAS was 10.29 (95% confidence limit=0.19); female patients were more anxious than male patients (P< .001), while patients older than 60 years showed a significant decrease in the level of anxiety. Five hundred two patients were rated as ASA-PS class P1, 502 as ASA-PS class P2, and 68 as ASA-PS class P3, with a mean DAS score of 9.69, 10.78, and 11.09, respectively: the DAS difference between groups was significant (P< .001).