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Dental caries and changes in dental anxiety in late adolescence
Author(s) -
Kruger Esther,
Thomson W. Murray,
Poulton Richie,
Davies Simon,
Brown R. Harvey,
Silva Phil A.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
community dentistry and oral epidemiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.061
H-Index - 101
eISSN - 1600-0528
pISSN - 0301-5661
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0528.1998.tb01973.x
Subject(s) - medicine , anxiety , dentistry , dental decay , psychiatry , oral health
– Little is known about changes in dental anxiety with ageing and their association with changes in oral health. This study examined the relationship between changes in dental caries experience and dental anxiety from 15 to 18 years of age among adolescent participants in the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study. Dental anxiety was estimated using the Corah Dental Anxiety Scale (DAS), and individuals with a DAS score of 13 + were identied as being dentally anxious. Dental examinations were performed on 649 individuals at ages 15 and 18, and a DMFS score was computed for each. Caries prevalence among those who were dentally anxious at both 15 and 18 years was signicantly higher than for those who were not at either age. Regression analysis revealed that dental anxiety predicted caries incidence between ages 15 and 18 years. Dental anxiety is likely to be a signicant predictor of dental caries experience, and may be a risk factor for dental caries incidence.