IADR Abstract Archives
Dental fear among Vietnamese schoolchildren according to the Children's Fear Survey Schedule-Dental Subscale
Objectives: The aim of the study was to evaluate and determine the cut-off point of high dental fear among 8-10-year-old schoolchildren in Vietnam
Methods: A total of 556 schoolchildren aged 8-10 years in five primary schools were surveyed for dental fear. Children's dental fear was evaluated by using the questionnaire of the Modified children’s fear survey schedule - dental subscale (MCFSS-DS) which contained items revealing dental fear in general (one item), fear of non-invasive (5 items) and invasive dental treatment (5 items). The five response categories of Likert-scale related to increased level of fear (score 1 = Not afraid at all, Score 5 = very afraid) was given to reflect each item.
Results: The prevalence of schoolchildren with single fear item varied from 7.5% to 43.0%. The high ranking of mean score was related to items: fear of injection (score = 2.7), fear of choking (2.6), fear of drilling (2.4) and fear of pain during the treatment (2.3). The cut-off point score of 24 of the MCFSS-DS indicated that optimal sensitivity was 80.3% and specificity was 79.8%. High dental fear was ascertained in 23.5% of boys and 22.2% of girls. Girls showed a significantly increased odds ratio for high dental fear (OR=1.6, 95% CI = 1.1-2.3, p<0.05) compared to boys.
Conclusions: A high mean score of schoolchildren's dental fear in the current study was related to invasive dental treatment items. There was a statistically significant difference between boys and girls related to dental fear. The optimal cut-off point score of 24 could be used to determine the high level of dental fear using the MCFSS-DS.
Methods: A total of 556 schoolchildren aged 8-10 years in five primary schools were surveyed for dental fear. Children's dental fear was evaluated by using the questionnaire of the Modified children’s fear survey schedule - dental subscale (MCFSS-DS) which contained items revealing dental fear in general (one item), fear of non-invasive (5 items) and invasive dental treatment (5 items). The five response categories of Likert-scale related to increased level of fear (score 1 = Not afraid at all, Score 5 = very afraid) was given to reflect each item.
Results: The prevalence of schoolchildren with single fear item varied from 7.5% to 43.0%. The high ranking of mean score was related to items: fear of injection (score = 2.7), fear of choking (2.6), fear of drilling (2.4) and fear of pain during the treatment (2.3). The cut-off point score of 24 of the MCFSS-DS indicated that optimal sensitivity was 80.3% and specificity was 79.8%. High dental fear was ascertained in 23.5% of boys and 22.2% of girls. Girls showed a significantly increased odds ratio for high dental fear (OR=1.6, 95% CI = 1.1-2.3, p<0.05) compared to boys.
Conclusions: A high mean score of schoolchildren's dental fear in the current study was related to invasive dental treatment items. There was a statistically significant difference between boys and girls related to dental fear. The optimal cut-off point score of 24 could be used to determine the high level of dental fear using the MCFSS-DS.