Measurement of Dental Anxiety Using Children’s Drawing in Pediatric Dentistry

Objectives: Drawing tests are the most common methods applied to children in order to assess their inner feelings and thoughts.The aim of this study was to evaluate children’s drawing as a measure of dental anxiety in dental setting.
Methods: Seventy- eight children, aged 6–12 years,and theri mothers participated in this study. At the end of the first treatment session the child was instructed to draw a picture of a person in a dental clinic. Children’s drawings were scored by a pediatric dentist and a psychologist using Child Drawing : Hospital ( CD:H ) scale and Human Drawing Test.The findings were compared with Venham My Picture Test (VPT ), SEM and Frankl scores. Modified Dental Anxiety Scale (MDAS), was used to evaluate dental anxiety among the mothers. Data were analyzed by descriptive statistical methods (mean, standard deviation), Kruskal-Wallis, Mann Whitney U and Wilcoxon test were used for comparisons between groups. Spearman’s correlation coefficient was used for correlations between variables.
Results: CD:H was correlated with Frankl (correlation coefficient = -0.314) scale(P < 0.0001) and with SEM scale (correlation coefficient = 0.263) scales (p < 0.02 ). VPT scores were correlated with both CHD (correlation coefficient =0.230, p = 0.043) and HFD scores (correlation coefficient =0.231, p = 0.042). No statistically significant difference was observed between the maternal MDAS scores and the Frankl, SEM,VPT CHD and HDF scores.
Conclusions: In conclusion, the present study suggests that drawings can be considered as a nonverbal self-report technique to assess subjective feelings in a pediatric dental setting.