Jeet Wheel Scale: A Novel Tool for Evaluation of Dental Anxiety in Children

One of the major concerns of the current era is dental anxiety in Pediatric Dentistry. Kids are very well adapted to emojis or emoticons nowadays, and they represent emotions or moods better than a cartoon picture. Therefore, this study was conducted to evaluate a newly designed anxiety rating scale. The Jeet Wheel Scale (JWS) uses emoticons and colors to assess the anxiety or mood of the child during the first visit of the child.

The aim was to establish the novel anxiety rating scale and compare it with the Venham Picture Test (VPT) and Facial Image Scale (FIS).

The study included 100 healthy children aged 4-8 years, and their dental anxiety was assessed using the JWS, VPT, and FIS at their first dental appointment, along with their scale preference.

The mean and standard deviation of anxiety scores measured using the FIS, VPT, and JWS were 1.67 ± 0.88, 1.99 ± 1.17, and 2.79 ± 1.35, respectively. Among the scales used, a significant difference was observed. A strong correlation was observed with the Pearson correlation test. The results indicated a strong correlation (0.863) between the JWS and VPT, and a strong correlation (0.802) between the JWS and the FIS. Based on the above observations, it could be confirmed that the JWS has high validity. Children preferred the JWS over the other two established scales.

The JWS was found to be more efficient for assessing dental anxiety in children.

Chakraborty S, Jana S, Dey B, et al. Jeet Wheel Scale: A Novel Tool for Evaluation of Dental Anxiety in Children. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2024;17(8):898-902.