Predictors of dental anxiety in Brazilian 5-7years old children

Abstract

Objectives: The aim of this study was to analyze the predictors of dental anxiety in 5 to 7-year-old children in a two years follow-up.

Materials and methods: This is a longitudinal study conducted with 784 children with 5 to 7years old. A face-to-face interview was conducted with the parents. The Dental Anxiety Question (DAQ) answers were categorized as presence or absence of dental anxiety. The possible predictor factors analyzed were: related to the children (age, sex, parentage, childbirth, physical activity, body satisfaction, psychological well-being, physical well-being, dentist visit); and related to the parents or guardians (excessive alcohol consumption, smoke, family income, number of children). Forward stepwise logistic binary regression was performed for the multivariate analysis. The analysis was controlled by gender.

Results: The prevalence of dental anxiety was 17.4%. Children in lower family income had 2.3 (95% CI: 1.3-4.0) greater chance to report high dental anxiety in comparison to children in higher family income. Similarly, children's parents who reported lower psychological well-being had 1.5 (95% CI: 1.0-3.0) greater chance to report high dental anxiety in comparison to children's parents with higher psychological well-being.

Conclusions: The prevalence of dental anxiety was high, and the family income and psychological well-being were inversely associated to dental anxiety in children.

Clinical relevance: Knowing the dental anxiety predictors could help the pediatric dentist to analyze and understand who is more susceptible to develop dental anxiety. An adequate approach, a trust relationship could be built, improving the oral health conditions and reducing the need of treatment in children.