A study on fear provoking factors in students from the town of Plovdiv.
The self-report measure of fear of children dental patients is an important point in screening and determining strategies of behaviour's management.


OBJECTIVE
The aim of this investigation was to assess dental fear in students from the town of Plovdiv, aged 12, 13 and 14, by using Dental Fear Survey Schedule for Children (DFSS-DS) and to determine the causes.


METHODS
The study included 312 students (161 girls and 151 boys) aged 12, 13 and 14, residents of Plovdiv. They completed the Children Fear Survey Schedule - Dental Subscale. 15 personalities, objects and circumstances have been given estimation points varying from 1 to 5.


RESULTS
The results showed that the average level of fear reported amounted to 32.04 +/- 9.8 in girls and to 22.56 +/- 7.6 in boys. Fear of choking is the most frequently reported fear, fear of dentist drilling machines comes next.


CONCLUSIONS
Most of the students at the ages of 12, 13 and 14 report quite a fear respect to dental treatment. As a result their oral health gets worse and requires working out of strategies to overcome fear.
Ilieva
E
E
Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, Higher Medical Institute, Plovdiv, Bulgaria. emilievabg@yahoo.com
Veleganova
V
V
Petrova
S
S
Belcheva
A
A
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D016854:Dental Anxiety / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010551:Personality; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012727:Sex Characteristics