title: Gender differences in dental anxiety: is the chair position important?
abstract: Dental anxiety in the general population is more prevalent in females than in males. The presence of dental anxiety was studied in a group of 189 females and 176 males using the following scales: the Dental Anxiety Scale (divided into DAS 1 containing 6 items, which explores a patient's dental anxiety and DAS 2 containing 13 items, which looks at dental anxiety concerning dentist-patient relations), the Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS), and the Quality of Life Index (QL-Index). The results obtained showed significant differences only in relation to dental anxiety regarding the use of instruments (such as needles and handpieces) and the tilted-back position of the chair (DAS 1). No significant gender differences emerged between the two groups in relation to dental anxiety regarding dentist-patient relations (DAS 2), depression (SDS), and the quality of life (QL-Index). The results may explain why women avoid dental care and indicate new designs to make the chair position more comfortable would be useful.
authors.affiliation: Medical Faculty of the University of Messina, Sicily. salvatore.settineri@unime.it <salvatore.settineri@unime.it>
authors.forename: Salvatore
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Settineri
authors.forename: Filippo
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Tati
authors.forename: Giusi
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Fanara
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D016854:Dental Anxiety / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology*; D003748:Dental Equipment / Q000009:adverse effects*; D003762:Dental Instruments / Q000009:adverse effects; D003812:Dentist-Patient Relations; D003863:Depression; D006804:Ergonomics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008347:Manifest Anxiety Scale; D008875:Middle Aged; D010555:Personality Inventory; D011187:Posture; D011788:Quality of Life; D012737:Sex Factors