A Survey Regarding Dentists' Training in Diagnosing and Management of the Dentally Anxious Patient

Objectives: To evaluate the prevalence of dental anxiety from Israeli dentists' viewpoint, to examine the level of knowledge and use of different techniques, and to examine dentists' willingness for acquiring training in the management of dental anxiety.
Methods: 800 questionnaires were randomly distributed. The response rate was 54% (n=428), 118 were not included due to incompleteness, leaving 310 questionnaires for statistical analysis.
Results: Dentists reported an average of 27.1% of their adult patients and 34.6% of their child patients as having dental anxiety, and 25.1% of their weekly working hours were devoted to dentally anxious patients. On average, the three most used techniques reported, among adults and children alike, were general techniques such as distraction and reinforcement, behavioral techniques such as gradual exposure and relaxation, and nitrous sedation. A high percentage of dentists reported that the reason for lack of use of hypnosis and general anesthesia is inadequate training (69.7% and 61.2% respectively ), and that the main reasons for lack of training in these techniques are lack of time and lack of interest. There is a general agreement that dentists have a responsibility to help dentally anxious patients, and 81.3% responded that they are interested in taking part in a dental anxiety management course.
Conclusions: It seems that there is need for further training for dental students, as part of their curriculum, and to expand the postgraduate training program in order to successfully manage anxious patients. Such activities will improve the quality of life of a large population in Israel.