title: Influence of gag reflex on dental attendance, dental anxiety, self-reported temporomandibular disorders and prosthetic restorations.
abstract: To assess the influence of gag reflex severity, assessed according to the short form of the patient part of Gagging Problem Assessment Questionnaire (GPA-pa SF), on the dental attendance, dental anxiety, self-reported temporomandibular disorder (TMD) symptoms and presence of prosthetic restorations among patients requiring prosthodontic treatment in Turkey. A total of 505 patients (305 women; mean age: 46·35 years, SD: 28·2 years) undergoing dental examination were administered a questionnaire containing questions regarding their age, gender, education level, dental attendance, TMD symptoms (limitation in jaw opening, muscle pain, pain/sounds in the temporomandibular jaw), the Turkish version of the Modified Dental Anxiety Scale (MDAS) and the GPA-pa SF. Subsequently, any prosthetic restoration was recorded by a dentist. Descriptive statistics, one-way analysis of variance (anova) and the chi-square test were used for statistical analysis. Differences were found between GPA-pa SF scores 0, 1 and 2 for education level (P = 0·001), MDAS scores (P = 0·003), self-reported TMD (P = 0·000) and prosthesis wear (P = 0·000), but not for attendance patterns (P = 0·826). Patients with gag reflex had lower education levels, higher levels of dental anxiety, more self-reported TMD symptoms and fewer fixed or removable prosthetic restorations than patients without gag reflex. Gag reflex has impacts on dental anxiety, self-reported TMD and prosthetic restorations, but not on dental attendance patterns, according to the results of the GPA-pa SF.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dentomaxillofacial Radiology, Gazi University School of Dentistry, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Z Z
authors.initials: ZZ
authors.lastname: Akarslan
authors.forename: A Z
authors.initials: AZ
authors.lastname: Yıldırım Biçer
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016854:Dental Anxiety / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D003729:Dental Care / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003761:Dental Impression Technique / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D005683:Gagging / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011476:Prosthodontics; D011861:Radiography, Dental / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000523:psychology; D057566:Self Report; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013705:Temporomandibular Joint Disorders; D014421:Turkey
keywords: TMJ disease; anxiety; dental prosthesis; dentistry; gag reflex; pharyngeal