DENTAL ANXIETY AMONG PATIENTS VISITING FATIMA MEMORIA HOSPITAL DENTAL OUT-PATIENT DEPARTMENT

Objectives: To compare the socio-demographics with dental anxiety among patients visiting FMH college of Dentistry.

Methods: A total of 400 adult patients visiting Fatima Memorial Hospital, Dental OPD were included in the study. Subjects were selected by convenience sampling. Dental anxiety of patients was assessed by Modified Dental Anxiety Scale (MDAS). Statistical analysis was performed on SPSS(version 17). Descriptive analysis, Chi-square test and bivariate correlation were applied where required.
Results: Female patients were found more anxious than male patients. Patients representing middle class were found to be more anxious than others. Patients from age group of 35-44 years were found to be significantly anxious than other groups. Tooth drilling produces more dental anxiety as compared to local anesthesia among adult patients.
Conclusions: The study shows that anxiety was high among study subjects. It is recommended that this issue should be given due importance and addressed in a practical and meaningful manner while performing particular dental procedure.