title: The Level of Exposure-Dental Experiences Questionnaire (LOE-DEQ): a measure of severity of exposure to distressing dental events.
abstract: To understand the development of dental anxiety better and to identify those at increased risk of developing dental anxiety, the Level of Exposure-Dental Experiences Questionnaire (LOE-DEQ) was developed. The aim of the current study was to determine the psychometric properties (i.e. factor structure, reliability, and validity) of the LOE-DEQ and to determine its suitability as an additional screening instrument for dentally anxious patients. Five different samples were used: (i) highly dentally anxious patients (n = 119); (ii) general dental patients (n = 480); (iii) students (n = 186); (iv) psychiatric outpatients (n = 17); and (v) oral surgery patients (n = 34). Results of the factor analysis revealed a four-factor solution. The LOE-DEQ has sufficient internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha values ranging from 0.69 to 0.85) and satisfactory test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.78). The results further suggest that this instrument has adequate discriminant, concurrent, and predictive validity. It is concluded that the LOE-DEQ is a useful tool for assessing patients' background in terms of previous exposure to distressing dental events, which is considered a vulnerability factor in the development of dental anxiety.
authors.affiliation: Department of Social Dentistry and Behavioural Sciences, Academic Centre for Dentistry Amsterdam (ACTA), Louwesweg, EA Amsterdam, the Netherlands. f.oosterink@acta.nl
authors.forename: Floor M D
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Oosterink
authors.forename: Ad
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: de Jongh
authors.forename: Johan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hoogstraten
authors.forename: Irene H A
authors.initials: IH
authors.lastname: Aartman
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002648:Child; D003213:Conditioning, Psychological; D016854:Dental Anxiety / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology*; D003812:Dentist-Patient Relations; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019647:Oral Surgical Procedures / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000523:psychology; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011594:Psychometrics; D012044:Regression Analysis; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires