The Importance of Dental Beliefs and Motivation for Dental Fear Treatment

The aim of this study was to investigate if dental beliefs and the initial meeting with the dentist predicted reduction of dental fear and treatment outcome among adult phobic dental patients. The study sample consisted 127 patients (36 men and 91 women, mean age 33 yr) seeking treatment at a specialized dental fear clinic. The patients made questionnaire assessments of background and outcome variables. Aspects of dental fear were assessed with the Dental Anxiety Scale (DAS) and the Dental Beliefs Survey (DBS). Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics as well as with regression analyzes. It was shown that the initial dental fear values were comparable with no significant difference between the groups of 66 successfully and 61 unsuccessfully treated patients (mean DAS 17.0 and 17.3, respectively). Women were significantly more often successful in treatment. Patients with successful treatment outcome reported initially more motivation with regard to willingness to engagement and belief in treatment, although these differences were small and not significant. Patients who where unsuccessfully treated showed initially significantly more general fear. The regression analyzes revealed that early reduction in negative dental beliefs (first two meetings with the dentist), engagement and belief in treatment, and gender significantly predicted dental fear reduction and treatment outcome. Thus, our results indicated that motivation for treatment as well as the initial contact with the dentist are important predictors of dental fear treatment. Supported by NIDCR Grant No. DE 08296