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ISSN 0001-0944 (Print)
Órgano Oficial de la Asociación Dental Mexicana

2014, Number 1

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Rev ADM 2014; 71 (1)

Risk factors for anxiety in children aged four to six attending a pediatric dental appointment for the first time

Juárez LLA, Retana UR, Delgado LAA

Language: Spanish
References: 17
Page: 9-15
PDF size: 376.99 Kb.


ABSTRACT

Objective: To determine the main risk factors associated with a state of anxiety before their first contact with pediatric dentistry in children between four and six years of age attending the Reforma Multidisciplinary Clinic (FES Zaragoza, UNAM). Study design: A study of 100 children aged between four and six years old was carried out. The parents of the children were given a questionnaire aimed at identifying the main risk factors associated with the state of anxiety that the patient might display. A visual analog scale of faces was used to assess the degree of anxiety in the children before their appointment. Data analysis was performed using SPSS version 17.0. Results: 44% of the patients assessed displayed anxiety. In terms of differences between the sexes, 50% of females presented anxiety, whilst 38.5% of the males did. Where parents felt confident enough to leave their children alone with the pediatric dentist, 87.5% of the patients showed no anxiety (p ‹ 0.001). Furthermore, the child’s academic level played a major role, with 86.4% of preschool children feeling anxiety (p ‹ 0.0001). Similarly, 72.7% of children who did not understand their parents’ explanations of why they were visiting the dentist also showed anxiety (p = 0.032), as did a significant proportion of those who reacted negatively to being separated from their parents (70.5%, with p ‹ 0.0001). Finally, 70.5% of children who reported a fear of injections showed anxiety (p ‹ 0.0001). Conclusions: The prevalence of anxiety in the study population was 44%, and the risk factors were: anxious parents, the school grade of the patient, a negative reaction to being separated from their parents, a fear of health personnel, injections, fear when arriving at the appointment and recognizing the clinic.


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