Influence of Social Anxiety, Parental Determinants and Oral Health Status on Dental Anxiety in School Aged Children
30th Congress of International Association of Paediatric Dentistry, Cape-Town, Güney Afrika, 22 - 25 Ekim 2025, ss.317, (Özet Bildiri)
- Yayın Türü: Bildiri / Özet Bildiri
- Basıldığı Şehir: Cape-Town
- Basıldığı Ülke: Güney Afrika
- Sayfa Sayıları: ss.317
- İstanbul Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
Background/Aim:
Dental anxiety in children is a
common issue that may lead to avoidance of dental visits and poor oral health
outcomes. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between dental
anxiety levels in children aged 9–13 and various factors, including sociodemographic
variables, parental dental anxiety, children’s social anxiety, and oral health
status.
Methods:
This cross-sectional study was
conducted with 132 randomly selected children aged 9–13 years who attended the
Pediatric Dentistry Clinic at Istanbul University. Data were collected using
validated scales: the Children’s Fear Survey Schedule - Dental Subscale
(CFSS-DS) for dental anxiety, the Social Anxiety Scale for Children-Revised
(SASC-R) for social anxiety, and the Corah Dental Anxiety Scale (C-DAS) for
parental anxiety. Sociodemographic and oral health variables (parents education
level, family income, brushing habits, dental trauma history etc., DMFT/dmft, PUFA/pufa) were recorded.
Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS v23 and AMOS v24. Mann Whitney U,
Kruskal Wallis H, Fisher Exact, Spearman’s rho, and path analysis were used.
Significance was set at p<0.05.
Results:
Children’s dental anxiety showed
a significant positive correlation with social anxiety (r=0.404; p<0.001),
but not with parental dental anxiety (p=0.745). A weak negative correlation was
found between DMFT score and dental anxiety (r=-0.178; p=0.042). Parental
education level did not significantly impact children’s dental anxiety but was associated
with social anxiety scores (p=0.014). Children with negative dental experiences
had significantly higher dental anxiety scores (p=0.004). No significant
associations were observed between dental anxiety and gender, age, family
income, or time since the last dental visit.
Conclusion:
Children’s dental anxiety is
positively associated with their social anxiety and past negative dental
experiences, rather than parental dental anxiety or sociodemographic factors.
Early identification and behavioral strategies addressing these factors may
improve pediatric dental care outcomes.