Modest Longitudinal Associations Between Parent-Reported Dental Fear at Age 5 and Child-Reported Dental Fear at Age...

Background/Objectives: Parent report is often used to assess dental fear in early childhood, but its association with later child-reported dental fear remains unclear. This study primarily examined whether parent-reported dental fear at age 5 was associated with child-reported dental fear at age 9, and secondarily explored two options derived from the modified Children's Fear Survey Schedule-Dental Subscale (CFSS-DS-M): a single general dental fear item and a pragmatic multi-item score. Methods: This secondary longitudinal observational analysis used data from the FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study. Mothers and fathers rated child dental fear at age 5 using the CFSS-DS-M. Children self-reported dental fear at age 9 using the Modified Dental Anxiety Scale (MDAS). Associations of the single item and five-item score with age-9 MDAS score were examined separately for mother- and father-reported data using Spearman correlations and adjusted linear regression models. Exploratory factor analysis examined the structure of the five-item score. Results: Treatment-specific CFSS-DS-M items frequently received "no experience" responses. The pragmatic five-item score showed an exploratory one-factor structure and was more feasible than the full 11-item score. Associations with age-9 dental fear were small. In adjusted analyses, both mother-reported measures were positively associated with age-9 dental fear. In father-reported data, the single item was not associated, whereas the five-item score showed a positive predictor-level association, although the adjusted model was not statistically significant. Conclusions: Parent-reported dental fear at age 5 provides modest information about later child-reported dental fear. In population-based cohorts in early childhood, less treatment-specific items may be useful when assessing dental fear.