Dental Fear in Australia: Exploring the Vicious Cycle

Objectives: This study aimed to describe both the prevalence of dental fear in Australia and to explore the relationship between dental fear, self-reported oral health status and the use of dental services. Methods: The study used a telephone interviewing survey with interviews predominantly conducted in 2002. A random sample of 7,312 Australian residents, aged five years and over, was obtained from all States and Territories. Data were weighted to ensure that the sample for each stratum more accurately represented the population of the corresponding stratum, with post-stratification by age and sex. Results: The study found 11.3% of the sample rated themselves as ‘very afraid’ of the dentist and 4.8% as ‘quite afraid’. Differences in fear existed by age, sex and socio-economic status. People with high fear (HF) visited the dentist less often and indicated a longer expected time before visiting a dentist in the future. HF individuals perceived greater need for dental surgery, including need for fillings, extractions, scaling and cleaning and gum treatment. They also experienced greater social impact and worse self-rated oral health. Visiting patterns of HF subjects were more likely to be symptom driven with dental visits more likely to be for a problem or for the relief of pain. Conclusions: Results support a hypothesised vicious cycle of dental fear. People with high dental fear were more likely to delay treatment, had more extensive dental problems, and were more likely to seek treatment for the relief of pain or when confronted with dental problems.