title: The Dental Fear Survey Schedule: a study with Finnish children.
abstract: The reliability and validity of the Dental Fear Survey Schedule for Children (DFSS-C) was examined in a sample of 828 school children in Finland. The DFSS-C mean was 22.1. Choking, injections and drilling were the most common fears. Internal consistency indicated a high level of reliability. Factor analysis (principal components, varimax rotation) found three factors accounting for 54% of the scale variance. Factors were defined as (1) fear of highly invasive procedures, such as injections and drilling; (2) fear of potential victimization, including fear of strangers, choking and hospitals; and (3) fear of less invasive procedures, such as opening the mouth and being examined by the dentist. The factor pattern was similar to results obtained with a sample of children in the United States. There were significant differences in fear score for children whose parents reported them fearful and/or reported them to have had a previous bad experience at the dentist. Boys (but not girls) who had a DMFT score of at least 1 had a significantly higher mean DFSS-C score (21.1) than those who were caries free (20.0). These data suggest the DFSS-C operates in Finland as it does in the United States, but that culture-specific minimal scores for determining high dental fear are needed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dental Public Health Sciences, University of Washington Health Sciences Center, Seattle 98195-9950.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Alvesalo
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Murtomaa
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Milgrom
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Honkanen
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Karjalainen
authors.forename: K M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Tay
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002648:Child; D004245:DMF Index; D016854:Dental Anxiety / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008347:Manifest Anxiety Scale; D015995:Prevalence; D015203:Reproducibility of Results