title: Short-term antidepressant treatment of comorbid dental anxiety in patients with panic disorder.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aims of this study were to determine the frequency of dental anxiety (DA) and dental phobia (DP) in panic disorder, and to follow the changes in DA levels during antidepressant treatment of panic disorder.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty-three controls and 102 panic disorder patients were assessed using the Structured Clinical Interview (SCID), the Panic-Agoraphobia Scale (PAS), and the Corah Dental Anxiety Scale (DAS). Oral health status was defined by the number of decayed, missing, and filled teeth (DMFT) index. The patients were classified into three groups: (1) those without dental anxiety (WDA), (2) those with dental anxiety (DA), and (3) those with dental phobia (DP). All patients were treated with antidepressants for 3 months and the response rates were assessed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  At baseline, DAS was significantly higher in both the DA and the DP groups than in the control group. Ten (9.8%) of the panic disorder patients fulfilled the diagnostic criteria for DP; 31 (30.4%) had severe DA. In the control group, none of the patients was diagnosed as DP, whereas 7 (13.5%) had severe DA. Panic disorder and DA both responded to the antidepressant treatment, but DAS scores remained significantly higher in the DP group than in the DA group and the control group at the end of the third month.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our data suggest that both DA and DP are more frequent in panic disorder than in healthy controls. Antidepressant treatment may have been helpful in decreasing DA levels in the DA group but not in the DP group.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Cukurova, Adana, Turkey. suguz@cu.edu.tr
authors.forename: Sukru
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Uguz
authors.forename: Gulsah
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Seydaoglu
authors.forename: Cem
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Doğan
authors.forename: Banu Yazgan
authors.initials: BY
authors.lastname: Inanc
authors.forename: Ebru
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Yurdagul
authors.forename: Rasim Somer
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Diler
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D015897:Comorbidity; D016854:Dental Anxiety / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016584:Panic Disorder / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology; D012737:Sex Factors; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D000928:Antidepressive Agents