Dental fear in sexually abused women

The aim of the present study was to investigate dental fear in women who have been exposed to different kinds of sexual abuse. In a cross-sectional questionnaire study, 99 sexually abused women were divided into three groups: one group who reported having been exposed to sexual touching (ST); one group who reported intercourse (IC); and one group who reported sexual abuse involving oral penetration (OP). The mean score on dental fear assessments was significantly higher for all groups than for Norwegian women in general. Women in the OP group scored significantly higher than women in other groups on dental fear. The majority of the women reported that they had experienced problems in relation to dental treatment situations. About half of the women in the OP group and one-third in the other groups reported that they had never considered that there was a relationship between the abuse and their problems with dental treatment situations. Significantly more women in the OP group reported that they had not been aware of the relationship, possibly because the abuse had been repressed. The majority of the women with extreme dental fear had never informed a dentist that they had been sexually abused.