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Children's dental anxiety in the United Kingdom in 2003
Nigel M Nuttall1, Angela Gilbert, John Morris
1Dental Public Health & Health Psychology, University of Dundee, Dundee Dental Hospital & School, Park Place, Dundee DD1 4HR, United Kingdom. n.m.nuttall@dundee.ac.uk
Background:
The prevalence of dental anxiety among a representative sample of children in the UK was determined in the Children's Dental Health survey of 2003.
Aims:
This paper is concerned with the extent to which children in the United Kingdom are judged by a parent or carer to be behaviourally affected by dental anxiety and the factors associated with this.
Method:
The information was gathered by self-completion questionnaire distributed to the parents of half of the sample of children who were also clinically examined in the dental survey.
Results:
Dental anxiety that was sufficient to disrupt dental attendance was reported for around 3-4% of the four age groups surveyed (5, 8, 12 and 15 years of age). Children's dental anxiety was associated with parental dental anxiety; a greater experience of invasive dental treatment and general anaesthetic; receipt of free school meals and social class.
Conclusions:
Whilst these findings do not necessarily indicate causal relationships, they do confirm a number of co-factors associated with dental anxiety perhaps most importantly that of anxiety with the experience of general anaesthetic for tooth extractions.
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