Dental fear among university students: implications for pharmacological research

University students are often subjects in randomized clinical trials involving anxiolytic and analgesic medications used during clinical dental and medical procedures. The purpose of this study was to describe a typical university student population available for research by using data from a mail survey. Subjects were 350 students chosen randomly from all enrolled, full-time, traditional students on the main campus at the University of Washington in Seattle, WA. The aim was to determine the extent and nature of dental anxiety in this population. In addition, the relationships between subject willingness to receive dental injections and general and mental health and medical avoidance and medical fears were examined. The Dental Anxiety Scale (DAS) was used to measure dental anxiety. Dental anxiety was prevalent in this population; 19% of students reported high rates of dental fear. Thirteen percent of students had never had a dental injection. Students with no experience with dental injections were more reluctant than those with experience to receive an injection if one were needed. DAS scores were correlated with injection reluctance. Students who were reluctant to go ahead with a dental injection also reported poorer general and mental health than those who were less reluctant. These students also reported higher medical avoidance and medical anxiety scores. University students provide a rich source of potential subjects for clinical research. The student population, like the community at large, contains people with high levels of dental and medical fear.