title: The influence of gender on the relationship between dental anxiety and oral health-related emotional well-being.
abstract: BACKGROUND AND AIM.  Children's dental fear and/or anxiety (DFA) has been associated with declines in oral health and quality of life. The influence of gender on the relationship between DFA and oral health-related well-being in children is analysed. DESIGN.  The decayed, missing and filled permanent teeth (DMFT) index was obtained from 161 school-aged children (7-14 years old). Data from children's self-assessed oral health, oral health-related emotional well-being and dental anxiety were collected using questionnaires. RESULTS.  Low scores of emotional well-being were associated with negative self-assessment of oral health and high levels of dental anxiety. Females reported decreased oral health-related emotional well-being compared with males. The analysis of possible moderating effects confirmed that gender influenced the relationship between oral health and DFA. The DMFT index was not associated with self-assessed oral health status, emotional well-being or DFA. CONCLUSION.  For girls, high levels of DFA were associated with low levels of oral health-related emotional well-being. In contrast, dental fear and/or anxiety did not influence oral health-related emotional well-being in boys.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dentistry, Rey Juan Carlos University, Madrid, Spain. maria.carrillo@urjc.es
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Carrillo-Diaz
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Crego
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Romero-Maroto
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001294:Attitude to Health; D002648:Child; D004245:DMF Index; D016854:Dental Anxiety / Q000523:psychology*; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D005639:Frustration; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D007508:Irritable Mood; D008297:Male; D009909:Oral Health / Q000145:classification; D011788:Quality of Life; D057566:Self Report; D012737:Sex Factors; D012792:Shyness