title: Validating a measure of the prevalence of dental anxiety as applied to Kuwaiti adolescents.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess self-reported dental anxiety (DA) among Kuwaiti adolescents and to test whether different dental anxiety scales are valid for measuring DA in Kuwait.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional, structured, anonymous questionnaire survey in Arabic completed at government schools.
  
  
  METHODS
  757 pupils aged 13-15 years from three schools filled the questionnaire. Useable response rate was 93.0%.
  
  
  METHODS
  DA was assessed by: 1, a single-item dental fear question (DF); 2, the Modified Dental Anxiety Scale (MDAS); and 3, the Modified Child Dental Anxiety Scale: faces (MCDAS(f)).
  
  
  RESULTS
  A third of the girls and 6% of boys reported being very much afraid of visiting a dentist. Use of the drill and injection in the gum were the most anxiety arousing MDAS items; tooth extraction and injection of the MCDAS(f) items. Total mean for MDAS was 11.4 (sd 4.6) and for MCDAS(f) 16.6 (sd 6.5). A tenth of the children were highly dentally anxious when measured by MDAS (score ≥ 19). Girls reported statistically significantly higher DA scores with all the measures. There was a high correlation between the total score of the MDAS and the total score of the MCDAS(f) (p = 0.855). Statistically significant relationship (p < 0.001) was found between the single-item DF and the total score of the MDAS and a single item and the total score of the MCDAS(f). CONCLUSIONs: A tenth of children were highly dentally anxious; girls reporting higher scores. A single-item dental fear question, MDAS and MCDAS(f) were valid tools for measuring DA among Kuwaiti adolescents.
authors: S
authors: S
authors: Honkala
authors: H
authors: H
authors: Al-Yahya
authors: E
authors: E
authors: Honkala
authors: R
authors: R
authors: Freeman
authors: G
authors: G
authors: Humphris
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D016854:Dental Anxiety / Q000145:classification / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007267:Injections / Q000523:psychology; D007730:Kuwait / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D057566:Self Report; D012737:Sex Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000145:classification; D014081:Tooth Extraction / Q000523:psychology; D019246:Tooth Preparation / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000523:psychology; D064232:Visual Analog Scale