Effect of intended treatment on anxiety and on reaction to electric pulp stimulation in dental patients.
Fear and anxiety are common emotional concomitants of acute pain that increase the perception of noxious events as painful. In the present study, 92 patients who were about to undergo various dental treatments (calculus removal, filling, root canal treatment, and extraction) were evaluated comparing the level of their dental anxiety and pain expectation from the intended treatment to their reaction to electric pulp stimulation. The data indicate that patients differ significantly in their dental anxiety levels and in their expectation to experience pain according to the following hierarchy (in descending order): extraction, root canal treatment, filling, and calculus removal. Anxiety and amount of pain expected from treatment correlated significantly with each other, but no simple correlations were found between anxiety and actual pain measures recorded after pulp stimulation.
Eli
I
I
Section of Behavioral Sciences,The Maurice and Gabriela Goldschleger School of Dental Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Israel.
Bar-Tal
Y
Y
Fuss
Z
Z
Silberg
A
A
D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D016854:Dental Anxiety / Q000523:psychology*; D003728:Dental Calculus / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D003729:Dental Care / Q000523:psychology*; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D003777:Dental Prophylaxis / Q000523:psychology; D003791:Dental Pulp Test / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010147:Pain Measurement / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012390:Root Canal Therapy / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014081:Tooth Extraction / Q000523:psychology