scholarly journals Psychometric evaluation of the Lebanese Arabic version of the Dental Fear Survey: a cross-sectional study

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiba Kassem El Hajj ◽  
Youssef Fares ◽  
Linda Abou-Abbas

Abstract Background Dental fear is a prevalent problem that can lead to poor dental health. The Kleinknecht’s Dental Fear Survey (DFS) is one of the used scales to assess dental fear. The present study aims to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Lebanese Arabic version of the DFS (DFS-A) and to determine the optimal cut-off to identify dental fear as well as the correlates of dental fear in a group of Lebanese adults dental patients. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted among a group of 442 dental patients (18–65 years) recruited at 29 dental clinics from March to June 2019. Patients completed a questionnaire including questions about demographic characteristics, previous bad dental experience, trauma’s experience period, the sensation of nausea during dental treatment, the DFS-A scale, the Lebanese Arabic version of the Modified Dental Anxiety Scale (MDAS-A), and a general question about dental fear. Results DFS-A revealed evidence of adequate psychometric properties. DFS-A scale demonstrated high internal consistency (cronbach’s alpha = 0.93). Test–retest reliability assessment demonstrated strong reproducibility of the DFS-A scale score (ICC = 0.92 with 95% CI (0.83–0.96), p value < 0.0001 (N = 30). Confirmatory factor analysis revealed a three-factor structure of the DFS-A reflecting fear associated with specific dental stimuli and procedures, patterns of dental avoidance and anticipatory anxiety, and physiologic arousal during dental treatment. A significant correlation was found between DFS-A and the MDAS-A indicating a good convergent validity. The optimal cut-off point to identify patients with and without dental fear is 41. Considering this cut-off score, the prevalence of dental fear in our sample was reported at 33.8%. Multivariable analysis showed that having previous scary and painful dental experiences, a sensation of nausea during treatment, and having dental anxiety were identified as predictors of dental fear. Conclusion The adapted Arabic version of the DFS (DFS-A) is a valid tool to evaluate dental fear among Lebanese adult patients.

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 1143 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristiano Scandurra ◽  
Roberta Gasparro ◽  
Pasquale Dolce ◽  
Vincenzo Bochicchio ◽  
Benedetta Muzii ◽  
...  

The aim of this monocentric cross-sectional study was to evaluate the psychometric characteristics of the Italian version of the Level of Exposure-Dental Experiences Questionnaire (LOE-DEQ) in an Italian sample of 253 dental patients ranging from 18–80 years of age. The LOE-DEQ assesses 16 potential dental distressing experiences and 7 general traumatic life events through 4 subscales: (1) dentists’ behaviour and patients’ emotions (DBPE); (2) distressing dental procedures (DDP); (3) other distressing dental events (ODDE); and (4) general traumatic events (GTE). Confirmatory factor analysis showed that the original 4-factor model had adequate fit to the data obtained from the Italian sample. Criterion validity was partially confirmed as only DBPE and DDP positively correlated with dental anxiety. Similarly, convergent validity was also partially confirmed as DBPE, DDP, and ODDE correlated with negative beliefs towards the dentist and the dental treatment. Discriminant validity was fully confirmed, as all correlations were below 0.60. Finally, DDP was the factor most associated with high dental anxiety. This study offers evidence of the reliability and validity of the LOE-DEQ in the Italian context, providing Italian researchers and dentists with a tool to assess dental and general distressing experiences in dental patients.


2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (04) ◽  
pp. 621-625
Author(s):  
Maria Sarapultseva ◽  
Maria Yarushina ◽  
Igor Kritsky ◽  
Roman Ibragimov ◽  
Alexey Sarapultsev

Abstract Objective Children’s dental fear may lead to an avoidance of seeking dental care or disruptive behavior during treatment. The study was aimed to evaluate the prevalence and scores of dental fear and anxiety (DFA) among Russian children of different ages with an experience of dental treatment. Materials and Methods The cross-sectional study included 371 children aged 2 to 17 years. Study participants were divided into three groups according to their age: 112 “preschool children” aged 2 to 5 years, 137 “school children” aged 6 to 11 years, and 122 “adolescents” aged 12 to 18 years. The questionnaires were distributed at reception areas of the dental clinic to parents of children aged 2 to 5 years and to the older children themselves. Statistical Analysis Data analysis was performed using SPSS version 15.0. The parametric tests were used (one-way ANOVA, Student’s t-test, and Pearson’s correlation) because of the expected sample of more than 100 observations. The chi-square test was used for categorical variables. Results The data have shown that 93.8% of the Russian child population visiting dental offices suffer mostly from moderate (11.85) levels of DFA. DFA was more often revealed in girls and among the youngest children aged 2 to 5 years. Conclusions According to the obtained results, children were more afraid of “tooth drilling” and an “injection of local anesthetic” than other factors mentioned in the questionnaires. Fear of dental treatment is common among Russian children, and the factors associated with it differ with the gender and age of the child.


2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maurício Antônio Oliveira ◽  
Miriam Pimenta Vale ◽  
Cristiane Baccin Bendo ◽  
Saul Martins Paiva ◽  
Júnia Maria Serra-Negra

Objective. The aim of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Brazilian version of the Dental Fear Survey (DFS), previously translated to the Brazilian Portuguese language and validated.Methods. A cross-sectional study with 1,256 undergraduates from the city of Belo Horizonte, Brazil, was carried out. The DFS and a questionnaire about previous dental experiences were self-administered. Data analysis involved descriptive statistics, principal components analysis (PCA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), internal consistency and test-retest reliability, and construct, discriminant, and convergent validity.Results. PCA identified a three-factor structure. CFA confirmed the multidimensionality of the Brazilian version of the DFS. A modified model of the Brazilian version of the DFS fits better than the hypothesized model. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for the total DFS scale was 0.95.Conclusion. The DFS demonstrated acceptable construct validity, convergent validity, and discriminant validity. These results supported the reliability and validity of the DFS among Brazilian undergraduates.


2017 ◽  
Vol 18 (11) ◽  
pp. 1021-1024 ◽  
Author(s):  
UB Rajasekaran ◽  
Madhavi Singh ◽  
Manish Goutam ◽  
Ashish Bhalla ◽  
Nikhil Grover ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Introduction Children with high dental fear and perception usually encounter high prevalence of dental caries. Data showed that individuals with dental fear will probably defer dental appointments which may result in the formation of a setup of an endless loop of dental fear. Present study was aimed to assess different psychosocial parameters among pediatric patients visiting dental clinics. Materials and methods In the present cross-sectional study, the data of 200 schoolchildren were collected and analyzed by means of a questionnaire. Evaluation of the oral health status was done by experienced pedodontists. All the answers were recorded and analyzed by Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software. Results Nearly 120 were regular attendees while remaining 80 were found to be irregular attendees. Significant difference was observed while comparing the decayed, missing, and filled teeth (DMFT) index, decayed teeth, dental fear, cognitive vulnerability, and dental prevention belief between the regular and irregular group. Significant correlation was observed between higher number of decayed teeth and increasing level of dental fear. Conclusion Various psychosocial parameters, by affecting the dental visits, are associated with outcome of oral health measures. Clinical significance Special attention should be paid to the pediatric patients with such kind of behavior so that their psychosocial attitude could be modified in favor of dental treatment. How to cite this article Bhalla A, Rajasekaran UB, Singh M, Goutam M, Grover N, Galav A. A Cross-sectional Study to assess the Perception of Psychosocial Elements among Pediatric Patients visiting Dental Clinics. J Contemp Dent Pract 2017;18(11):1021-1024.


Author(s):  
Rushda Kazi ◽  
Waseem Khan ◽  
Amit Kumar ◽  
Bhumika badiyani

Abstract Dental anxiety and dental fear are major factors causing much trouble for the people attending to their own personal health. Statistics show that young individuals experience higher dental anxiety than others. This can be accounted for by the diverse, intense effects of a number of psychological factors in this age range that can cause dental fear and dental anxiety. Aim: To assess the prevalence and level of dental anxiety among dental undergraduate students and interns in Mumbai. Materials and Methods: The self-reported assessment scale developed by N. Corah, the Dental Anxiety Scale (DAS) which was later modified with the inclusion of a question over anaesthetic injection was used in the study; it was applied in the form of a questionnaire containing data on name, college, year of study and was used to measure the dental anxiety among the study population. Results and Discussion: Three hundred and eight subjects were recruited into the study. Anxiety-free students were the most numerous group in the sample (184, 59.74%), which were followed by students showing moderate anxiety. Twelve (3.89%) students experienced severe anxiety.. About 14.2% of the study population has scored 15 or more in the MDAS questionnaire. The students were anxious mostly while waiting for their turn at the dental office and anaesthetic injections. Conclusion: Dental anxiety is a common difficulty encountered among dental students who represent future healthcare professionals. Also, a high level of dental anxiety leads to turning away from dental treatment. Key Words: Dental anxiety, Dental students, Dental Anxiety Scales


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