Prevalence of Dental Anxiety among Patients Visiting a Teaching Dental Hospital in Lucknow, India and Self-perceived Treatment Need

Abstract

The provocation of anxiety by dental treatment is a universal phenomenon. The present study aims to assess the prevalence of dental anxiety among patients visiting a teaching dental hospital in Lucknow, India and their self-perceived treatment needs. It is a questionnaire-based cross-sectional study carried out on patients visiting the various departments of Babu Banarasi Das College of Dental Sciences and Hospital, Lucknow. The chi-square (χ2) test was used for comparison of categorical data (discrete). Student’s t-test was used to compare mean age of two groups while comparison of mean scores of anxiety and self-perception was done by Mann Whitney U test (adjusted Z value). The anxiety was higher in the lower age (18–25 years) groups, being significantly higher in females (27.7%) than males (20.3%). The anxiety was highest for injection (24.3%) and least for scaling and polishing (14.9%). The perception was highest for P1 (34.3%) and lowest for P2 (6.9%) and was significantly higher in females than males. The anxiety was higher in the lower age (18–25 years) groups with females affected more than males. The highest percentage of anxiety was recorded for injection and least for scaling and polishing.

Keywords: Dental anxiety, perceived, patients, hospital