ASSESSMENT OF DENTAL ANXIETY AMONG DENTAL STUDENTS – A CROSS SECTIONAL SURVEY

Abstract:

 Aims and objectives: Anxiety is defined as fear or alertness in response to some stressful situation which leads to nervousness.1 Dental anxiety is fear or apprehension during dental treatment or in dental settings. It’s a subjective feeling and differs from one person to another. Dental anxiety interferes with dental treatment and causes delay in treatment and stress in dentist. So, a study was designed with an intention to estimate the prevalence of dental anxiety in dental students. Dental anxiety was measured using Corah’s Dental Anxiety Scale, revised (DAS-R). Questionnaire was distributed among dental students from first year to final a year and house surgeons.395 students were enlisted for this study. Results were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Only 1.01% had phobia,3.379 % had high anxiety,28.35 had moderate anxiety and 66.83% had no anxiety. Mean anxiety score was this study was found to be 7.66 which is considered as no anxiety level. Anxiety score was found decreasing from first year to house surgeons. Less significant anxiety was described in dental students in this study. Knowledge and awareness of oral health and routine dental visits can reduce the dental anxiety to a negligeable level.