SHOW me someone who is not afraid of the dentist while sitting in the dental chair, and I will show you an elephant that can fly. The prevalence of dental anxiety is universal and although a precise reason for it has not been scientifically confirmed, research is continuously being conducted to elucidate the phenomenon. One such study was recently conducted in Australia and it is believed that the results reflect a global blend.

Dental anxiety has been reported to impact upon both dental status and the use of dental services. There is an association between dental anxiety, correspondingly greater levels of untreated oral disease, and patterns of care provision, which were dominated by emergency treatment and irregular dental attendance.

When two Australian scientists studied dental anxiety by using a long (one to two-hour) semi-structured psychiatric interview followed by dental examination, the National Dental Telephone Interview survey (from random sampling of telephone numbers by computer) and by using Corah’s Dental Anxiety Scale (13 points and above considered severe), they discovered the following:

1. The ‘dental phobics’showed greater numbers of missing teeth, more loss of alveolar bone through gum disease, and greater denture use, when compared with other subjects.
2. The adults had fewer natural teeth.
3. Those with natural teeth had more missing and fewer filled teeth, but did not differ in their numbers of decayed teeth.
4. They had four to five times the odds of needing immediate treatment to relieve pain or infection.
5. The prevalence of dental fear was higher among those of lower education levels and social class.

Dental anxiety has also been shown to be associated with the avoidance of regular dental care. Evidence of the adverse health consequences means that estimation of the prevalence and severity of dental anxiety may be of significant importance to dental public health.

Individuals with high dental anxiety are likely to suffer greater impact from dental conditions, with significantly more toothache, discomfort and avoidance of some foods. The condition may be a component in a cycle of dental disadvantage among individuals who are inflicted with it. The dental health status of the victims will progressively deteriorate, unless the condition is overcome.
It follows that dentally anxious individuals would be more likely to experience marked social impact from impairing oral diseases; that is, not only are they more likely to avoid care, they are more likely to need it, and they suffer the dental and social consequences of not seeking it. But the good news is that persons can overcome dental anxiety to the extent whereby they may enjoy good oral health as anyone else. I will deal with the solution to dental anxiety later.