title: [Anxiety regarding dental treatment: prevalence and predictors among Brazilians].
abstract: Considering the negative impact anxiety can exert over dental treatment, the scope of this study was to determine the prevalence of predictors of anxiety regarding dental treatment among Brazilians. A cross-sectional study was carried out using the Corah dental anxiety scale to assess the degree of anxiety regarding dental treatment among 3000 patients. The results reveal that two out of every eight Brazilian patients manifest moderate to severe anxiety regarding dental treatment. In this sample, the degree of anxiety was higher among females (p=0.007), over 20 years of age (p=0.006), without access to the Internet and/or newspapers (p=0.016), with a low frequency of oral hygiene (p=0.001), for whom the reason for the dental appointment was curative treatment, pain or another problem rather than a check up (p=0.047) and those suffering from toothache (p<0.001). Fear and anxiety regarding dental treatment indeed exist in the Brazilian population and the findings of this study suggest that, besides the lack of economic resources, negligence with respect to oral health, gender and age may increase the degree of anxiety.
authors.affiliation: Faculdade de Odontologia, Universidade de Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco. wathson@ig.com.br
authors.forename: Ricardo Wathson Feitosa
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: de Carvalho
authors.forename: Paulo Germano de Carvalho Bezerra
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Falcão
authors.forename: Gustavo José de Luna
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Campos
authors.forename: Alliny de Souza
authors.initials: Ade S
authors.lastname: Bastos
authors.forename: José Carlos
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Pereira
authors.forename: Maria Auxiliadora da Silva
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Pereira
authors.forename: Maria do Socorro Orestes
authors.initials: Mdo S
authors.lastname: Cardoso
authors.forename: Belmiro Cavalcanti do Egito
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Vasconcelos
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D016854:Dental Anxiety / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult