title: Factors for determining dental anxiety in preschool children with severe dental caries.
abstract: The aim of this study was to assess the clinical and socioeconomic indicators associated with dental anxiety in preschool children with severe dental caries. A total of 100 children between 3 and 5 years of age were selected during a dental screening procedure. The selection criteria were having at least one tooth with dental caries and a visible pulpal involvement, ulceration, fistula, and abscess (PUFA) index of ≥1 in primary teeth. Before the clinical examination or any treatment procedure was performed, we evaluated the children's dental anxiety using the Facial Image Scale (FIS). Parents completed a questionnaire on socioeconomic conditions, which included the family structure, number of siblings, parental level of education, and family income. A dentist blinded to FIS and socioeconomic data performed the clinical examination. Poisson regressions associate clinical and socioeconomic conditions with the outcome. Most of the children (53%) experienced extensive dental caries (dmf-t ≥ 6), and all children had severe caries lesions, with a PUFA index of ≥1 in 41% and that of ≥2 in 59%. The multivariate adjusted model showed that older children (4-5-year old) experienced lower dental anxiety levels compared with younger children (3-year old) (RR = 0.35; 95%CI: 0.17-0.72 and RR = 0.18; 95%CI: 0.04-0.76, respectively), and children with three or more siblings were associated with higher levels of dental anxiety (RR = 2.27; 95%CI: 1.06-4.87). Older age is associated with low dental anxiety, and more number of siblings is associated with high dental anxiety in preschool children, whereas the severity or extent of dental caries is not associated with dental anxiety.
authors.affiliation: Universidade de São Paulo - USP, Faculty of Dentistry, Department of Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Jenny
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Abanto
authors.affiliation: Universidade de São Paulo - USP, Faculty of Dentistry, Department of Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Evelyn Alvarez
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Vidigal
authors.affiliation: University of Bern, Department of Preventive, Restorative and Pediatric Dentistry, Bern, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Thiago Saads
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Carvalho
authors.affiliation: Universidade de São Paulo - USP, Faculty of Dentistry, Department of Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Stella Núbia Coelho de
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Sá
authors.affiliation: Universidade de São Paulo - USP, Faculty of Dentistry, Department of Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Marcelo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bönecker
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D002675:Child, Preschool; D016854:Dental Anxiety / Q000209:etiology*; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy*; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income; D008297:Male; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome