June 2011

Objective: To evaluate the relationship between dental anxiety, general anxiety and depression levels in patients attending a university hospital dental clinic in Turkey. Basic research design: A cross sectional study. Participants: 250 first visit patients seeking dental treatment. Main outcome measures: Modified Dental Anxiety Scale (MDAS), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) were used to assess the dental anxiety, general anxiety and depression level in these patients. Results: The mean MDAS, BAI, and BDI scores were 10.5, 9.4, and 10.7, respectively. The prevalence of dental anxiety was found to be 20.8% (52/250) at the cut-off point ≥ 15 and 6.8% (17/250) at the cut-off point ≥19 according to MDAS score evaluation. MDAS and BAI scores were significantly higher in women (p<0.001 and p<0.01, respectively). BDI and BAI scores were significantly higher in MDAS cut-off point of 15 (p<0.05 and p<0.001, respectively). When the cut-off point was taken as 19, age and BAI scores were significantly higher in MDAS ≥ 19 (p<0.05, p<0.001 and p=0.477, respectively) but there was no association with BDI. There was significant correlation between MDAS scores and age, BDI and BAI mean scores (r = - 0.166, p<0.01; r = 0.148, p<0.05; r = 0.273, p<0.01 respectively). Conclusions: Dental anxiety was positively correlated with patients’ general anxiety level and was higher in women and at younger age. Key words: Anxiety, dental anxiety, depression, modified dental anxiety scale