Open AccessA SCALE TO ASSESS CHILD'S DENTAL ANXIETY
Author(s) -
L. Harsha,
Ganesh Jeevanandan
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
zenodo (cern european organization for nuclear research)
Language(s) - English
DOI - 10.5281/zenodo.573166
Subject(s) - anxiety , scale (ratio) , psychology , clinical psychology , medicine , psychiatry , geography , cartography
Aim: The aim of the study is to evaluate the child’s dental anxiety levels when in a dental clinic and also determine which of the three chosen scales can be used effectively to evaluate dental anxiety levels.Materials and Methods: The study was conducted among 100 children aged between 8-15 years were randomly selected on their first dental visit. The children were asked if they would participate in the study that would assess on how they emotionally feel about the dentist and the thought of getting a dental treatment. It was also ensured that it was the child’s first dental visit. Parent’s consent was also obtained for the same. The child’s anxiety level was assessed using three different scales; RMS- pictorial scale; Facial image scale; Venham picture scale.Results: The average score of RMS pictorial scale, Facial image scale, and Venom’s picture scale is 2.71, 2.12, 2.65 respectively. On comparing the 3 scales, statistically significant results are obtained. This signifies that when the value of one scale increases there is also an increase in the value of the other two corresponding scales.Conclusion: In this study, significant results were obtained on comparison of the scales. Hence any of the three scales can be used as an aid to assess the child’s anxiety levels when in a dental clinic