Prevalence and Predictive Factors of Dental Anxiety in Brazilian Adolescents

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence and predicitve factors of dental anxiety among Brazilian adolescents. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of a random sample of 340 Brazilian adolescents, done between 2005 and 2010. Corah's Dental Anxiety Scale and an objective questionnaire were used to determine the degree of dental anxiety. Results: The prevalence of moderate to severe dental anxiety was approximately 18%. Dental anxiety was correlated with the following factors: gender (P<.05), age group (P<.001), degree of schooling (P<.001), access to newspapers and/or the Internet (P<02), oral hygiene frequency (P=.005), visits to the dentist (P<.02), reason for last visit to the dentist (P<.001), and experience with dental pain (P=.002). Conclusions: Dental fear and anxiety in Brazilian adolescents are associated with lack of economic resources, negligence of oral health, low educational level, female gender, and younger age.