What hurts during dental hygiene treatment.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to examine clients' pain reports for routine clinical procedures during dental hygiene treatment, and to examine the degree to which physical and psychological variables contribute to pain.


METHODS
A convenience sample consisting of 53 (18 male, 35 female) undergraduate students enrolled at Dalhousie University participated as dental hygiene clients. Before treatment, the demographics, dental anxiety, and pain catastrophizing of students were measured. During procedures, dental status was measured. Following procedures, the amount of pain associated with procedures was recorded. Data was analyzed using an SPSS/PC statistical package.


RESULTS
Most procedures were associated with little or no pain. However, probing and scaling were associated with greater pain. Furthermore, 25 percent of the sample reported their pain was > or = 7/10 on at least one dental hygiene procedure. Dental status measures and treatment difficulty did not correlate with pain. Individuals higher in dental anxiety and pain catastrophizing reported greater pain. Multiple regression showed that all predictor variables combined to account for approximately 1/3 of the variance in pain reports.


CONCLUSIONS
On average, clinical dental hygiene treatment is associated with low levels of pain, but approximately 25 percent of subjects experienced at least one of the seven procedures as being moderately to severely painful. Findings illustrate the need for effective pain management that may be physiologically or psychologically based. Interventions geared toward reducing anxiety and pain catastrophizing may be useful additions to the curriculum of dental hygiene programs.
Tripp
D A
DA
Department of Psychology, Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Neish
N R
NR
Sullivan
M J
MJ
D000328:Adult; D016854:Dental Anxiety / Q000150:complications* / Q000517:prevention & control; D003774:Dental Plaque Index; D003777:Dental Prophylaxis / Q000009:adverse effects*; D012534:Dental Scaling / Q000009:adverse effects; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010146:Pain / Q000209:etiology; D010147:Pain Measurement; D014098:Toothache / Q000209:etiology*