IADR Abstract Archives
Validation of the Taiwanese version Modified Dental Anxiety Scale
Objectives: Dental anxiety is high associated with patients’ pain and satisfaction of receiving dental treatment. Taiwan, which excels in dental treatment and dental technology, nevertheless, shows a great degree of ignorance on the issues of dental anxiety. In the current study, we established the Chinese-version of the modified dental anxiety scale (MDAS) and reported its psychometric features.
Methods: 402 adults aged between 20 and 86 years (male: female = 202:200) were recruited in the study from local communities of Taipei and New Taipei City (n=201) and from the outpatient dental clinic of a hospital (n=201). The Chinese-translation of MDAS, demographical items and the Chinese-version of IDAF-4C+ were collected from all the participants.
Results: Overall, the participants reported the MDAS score (mean standard deviation=10.6±4.3) that was non-normally distributed (Shapiro-Wilk test, p<0.05, right-skewed=0.9). The scale showed a good internal consistency (adjusted Cronbach’s alpha=0.88) and test-retest reliability (ICC of absolute agreement=0.89 for average measures, based on 30 participants who completed the second test after 6 weeks). As evidence of criterion-correlated validity, the score was significantly positively correlated with the score of IDAF-4C+ (Spearman’s rho=0.76, p<0.001). As evidence of discriminant validity, the score showed a significant difference in the participants with/without habits of regular dental visits (Mann-Whitney U test, p<0.05). The female participants showed a higher MDAS score (median=11) than the male participants (median=9) (Mann-Whitney U test, p<0.05). There were no significant differences between age groups (one-way ANOVA, p=0.124) in this study.
Conclusions: The current study, for the first time, reported a validated tool (Chinese-version MDAS) for assessing dental anxiety and reported the distribution of dental anxiety scores based on Taiwanese samples.
Methods: 402 adults aged between 20 and 86 years (male: female = 202:200) were recruited in the study from local communities of Taipei and New Taipei City (n=201) and from the outpatient dental clinic of a hospital (n=201). The Chinese-translation of MDAS, demographical items and the Chinese-version of IDAF-4C+ were collected from all the participants.
Results: Overall, the participants reported the MDAS score (mean standard deviation=10.6±4.3) that was non-normally distributed (Shapiro-Wilk test, p<0.05, right-skewed=0.9). The scale showed a good internal consistency (adjusted Cronbach’s alpha=0.88) and test-retest reliability (ICC of absolute agreement=0.89 for average measures, based on 30 participants who completed the second test after 6 weeks). As evidence of criterion-correlated validity, the score was significantly positively correlated with the score of IDAF-4C+ (Spearman’s rho=0.76, p<0.001). As evidence of discriminant validity, the score showed a significant difference in the participants with/without habits of regular dental visits (Mann-Whitney U test, p<0.05). The female participants showed a higher MDAS score (median=11) than the male participants (median=9) (Mann-Whitney U test, p<0.05). There were no significant differences between age groups (one-way ANOVA, p=0.124) in this study.
Conclusions: The current study, for the first time, reported a validated tool (Chinese-version MDAS) for assessing dental anxiety and reported the distribution of dental anxiety scores based on Taiwanese samples.
