Methods: A cross-sectional study (n=368) was conducted on patients older than 18, attending the Griffith University Dental Clinic. It included a questionnaire developed specifically to measure aspects of patient demographics, dental visits and dental anxiety. It incorporated the Index of Dental Anxiety and Fear (IDAF-4C) developed by Armfield (2010). All participants were interviewed individually.
Results: The prevalence of high dental anxiety in the study population was 25.6% (n=94). The majority of participants were middle-aged and from low socio-economic backgrounds. The greatest prevalence of high dental anxiety occurred for those with no tertiary education, who had very poor self-rated oral health, who had not visited a dental professional for over 2 years and who demonstrated symptomatic visitation patterns. Financial cost was identified as the greatest barrier to dental care. To help reduce dental anxiety, most patients wanted more information regarding the actual dental procedure.
Conclusions: Patients attending a university dental clinic have significantly higher levels of dental anxiety compared to previous studies in other clinical settings. Numerous differences between individuals with high dental anxiety and low dental anxiety in terms of education, self-rated oral health perception, dental visits and barriers to access were identified. Early identification and effective management of such patients is critical to help minimise dental avoidance and consequently poorer oral health.