Associations Between Parent and Child Dental Anxiety in GDP

Objectives: The aim of this pilot study was to examine any associations between parental dental anxiety and child dental anxiety in patients attending for treatment at three dental practices in England. Methods: The faces version of the Modified Child Dental Anxiety Scale (MCDASf) was administered to 138 children aged between 7 and 15 years immediately before attending a dental appointment with their general dental practitioner. At the same time the accompanying parent was also asked to complete the Modified Dental Anxiety Scale (MDAS). Results: There was strong evidence of a positive association between child and parent anxiety levels (r=0.35 p=<0.01) so that children who reported higher levels of anxiety were more likely to have parents who were also anxious. Adult females accompanying their children reported higher anxiety levels than adult males (t=-3.59, df=136, p<0.01). Similarly girls reported higher levels of anxiety than boys (t=-8.95, df=71.87, p<0.01). Neither the MCDASf nor MDAS scores were associated with the education level or marital status of parents. However, parental MDAS scores were associated with BME group so that Asian parents (mean=7.00, 95% CI= 5.27-8.73) were less anxious (p<.01) than either black (mean=10.48 95% CI=9.81-21.86) or white (mean=10.67, 95% CI= 9.74-11.63) parents. There was evidence that anxiety scores varied according to geographical area with parents attending the dental practice in the most affluent area of the city exhibiting lower levels of dental anxiety (mean=18.62, 95% CI=17.31-19.94 than those from other areas (mean=19.65 95%CI=16.91-22.39; mean=21.50 95% CI=18.98-24.02 respectively; p<.01). Conclusions: There is an association between parent and child dental anxiety scores but levels of anxiety vary according to BME category and geographical area. The assessment of parent and child anxiety levels before treatment takes place is likely to benefit dental professionals in their management of dental anxiety specifically and treatment planning generally.