Purpose: About 40% of modern western society are apprehensive about dental visits, 20% are highly fearful, and 5% avoid oral health care completely. This study examined how negative perceptions of dental stimuli contribute to dental fear.
Methods: One-hundred-and-seven people recruited from a dental school clinic and a private practice, participated in the study. Each participant completed measures of general dental anxiety (DAS-R) and negative perception of specific dental stimuli (DFAS). Upon completion of the scales, data were coded and analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences.
Results: Data analyses revealed a significant correlation between negative perceptions of common dental stimuli and dental fear (p < .05). Getting an injection, having dental radiographs taken, use of scalers and curets, and the sight of the needle were identified as the dental stimuli evoking the highest negative perceptions by the sample.
Conclusion: Because exposure to certain stimuli triggers dental fear, it is important to identify anxious oral health care patients, and oral health care providers must be sensitive to their fear. Providing a positive experience will help to lower negative perceptions of oral health care. If particular stimuli produce anxiety and fear, then ways to limit exposure to them is necessary.