title: Evaluating a single dental anxiety question in Finnish adults.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the psychometric properties (criterion validity, construct validity, sensitivity, and specificity) of a single-item question screening for dental anxiety in a Finnish adult population.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 823 subjects, ranging in age from 18 to 87 years, answered a questionnaire comprising sections assessing the respondents' demographic profile and dental attendance patterns. A single dental anxiety question and the Modified Dental Anxiety Scale (MDAS) were included. The final response rate was 85%.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Eight percent of the sample was highly dentally anxious using the MDAS cut-off point of 19 or above. Twelve percent of the respondents rated themselves as "very scared" on the single-item question. The percentage agreement between the single-item question and the MDAS was 93; the Kappa coefficient was 0.63. Specificity of the single question was 0.95 while sensitivity was 0.80 using the MDAS dichotomous classification. The single-item question related to age (p<0.001), gender (p<0.001), and dental attendance (p<0.001), as predicted.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The single question has good validity, specificity, and sensitivity and may be used with confidence to assess dental fear in such situations as national health surveys or in routine dental practice where a multi-item dental anxiety questionnaire is not feasible.
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Dentistry, University of Oulu, Finland.
authors.forename: Aki
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Viinikangas
authors.forename: Satu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lahti
authors.forename: Siyang
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yuan
authors.forename: Ilpo
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Pietilä
authors.forename: Ruth
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Freeman
authors.forename: Gerry
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Humphris
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016854:Dental Anxiety / Q000523:psychology*; D003729:Dental Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011594:Psychometrics; D012737:Sex Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires