Dental Anxiety in Fiji

Objectives: To evaluate the levels of dental anxiety in Fijians using Corah's Dental Anxiety Scale (DAS). Anxiety about dental treatment and the fear of pain associated with dentistry remains globally widespread and is considered a major barrier to dental treatment despite the technological advances in dentistry. This can have detrimental consequences to people's oral health and pose a serious epidemiological challenge to oral health care professionals. Dental anxiety is well described in the Western world however there is little literature on the situation in the developing world. Methods: 120 adults, aged 18-45 years were randomly selected from the capital city of Suva until there were 60 Indigenous and 60 IndoFijians, with 30 males and 30 females from each group responding to questions from Corah's Dental Anxiety Scale. Results: The average DAS for all the participants was 8.8. The average DAS for IndoFijians was 9.8 and was significantly higher than for Indigenous Fijians ie 7.8. IndoFijians only reported less anxiety with increasing age as the Indigenous Fijians generally displayed low levels of anxiety. There was no significant difference in DAS between the genders. A considerable proportion of IndoFijians (28%) were anxious with 13% being highly anxious. Conclusion: Young IndoFijian adults are more likely to possess dental anxiety and should be managed appropriately which may include behavioural and / or pharmacological therapy. This may require referral to dental specialists or involve a multidisciplinary approach to the management of these people.