Journal of Research and Advancement in Dentistry
Official publication of Magadh University and Kolhan University, Government of Bihar and Jharkhand, India
Official publication of Magadh University and Kolhan University, Government of Bihar and Jharkhand, India
Year : 2015
Volume : Volume 5
Issue : Issue 2
Address for correspondence :
Dr. Swapnil Oza
swapniloza9@gmail.com
Background: Existence of dental fear and anxiety is very common. Dental fear has also been reported as one of the most important reasons for avoidance and negligence of regular dental care. Therefore, the present study was aimed to evaluate and assess the dental anxiety and dental caries in school children from Udaipur, India to document evidence on these two critical factors. Methodology: A cross sectional survey was conducted among 360 school children from 5 schools which are located in five different zones (East, West, North, South and Central) of the city. Informed consent was obtained. To record the fear, self recorded Children’s Fear Survey Schedule – Dental Subscale (CFSS-DS) Scale was used. A self-constructed questionnaire was also used to gather information regarding knowledge about dentist, previous dental visits (if any) and oral hygiene habits. Along with this, DMFT and DMFS indices were recorded for each individual to assess the caries status. Results: The response rate was 99.9%. The mean age was 9.40 years. Group 1 had strength of 234 whereas Group 2 included 126 students making a total of 360 participant turnout. The CFSS-DS questionnaire consisted of 15 items in it, so, children were interviewed on the same aspects. When asked about fear from dentist 165(45.8%) of the students were anxious in a fair amount (score 3). The values presented a significant difference (Group1=117 i.e. 50%; Group2=42 i.e. 33.3%) (P=0.000). DMFT scores inferred in present study were 288 (80%) children came under LCG- Low Caries Group (Group1=207, 88.5%; Group2= 81, 64.2%) and 72 (20%) came under HCG- High Caries Group (Group1=27, 11.5%; Group2=45, 35.8%) shows significant different (P=0.000). Conclusion: From the observations attained and analyzed, it can be concluded that dental anxiety remains same or may decrease with increasing age but caries frequency increases significantly with advancing age due to underutilization of preventive dental care because of dental fear in early childhood age.
Keywords: School children, dental fear, dental caries.
