Reliability and Validity of Modified Dental Anxiety Scale in Ýstanbul

Objectives:The purpose of this study was to determine the sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values and reliability of Modified Dental Anxiety Scale (MDAS) and Corah's Dental Anxiety Scale (DAS). Methods:In this study, 294 randomly selected dental patients, who were referred to the Faculty of Dentistry of Yeditepe University completed a questionnaire containing two measures of dental anxiety. One of these scales was Corah’s Dental Anxiety Scale (DAS) and the one was Modified Dental Anxiety Scale (MDAS). Results:The mean age of the individuals who participated in this study was 38,78±14,39 yr. The prevalance of dental anxiety was determined as 9.9 % (29/ 294) for DAS at the cut-off point 15 and 8.8 % (26/294) for MDAS at the cut-off point 19. Conclusions: In the present study Corah’s Dental Anxiety Scale (DAS) and the Modified Dental Anxiety Scale (MDAS) gave acceptable sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values at the cut-off points used for DAS scores being 15 and for MDAS 19 for the Turkish population.