Evaluation of Dental Anxiety Levels of the Oral and Dental Health Program Students

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to compare the dental anxiety levels of 1st and 2nd year oral and dental health program students. Method: A total of 91 students, 47 1st year and 44 2nd year students, studying in the oral and dental health programs were included in our study. The modified dental anxiety scale (MDAS), which consists of five questions frequently preferred for assessing dental anxiety and questionnaires containing demographic information, were distributed to the participants. The participants with an MDAS score of 19 and/or above were considered to have a high level of dental anxiety. Statistical analysis of the data obtained was performed using Student’s t-test and one-way analysis of variance. Results: In all questions, the 1st year students had higher MDAS scores, and in the third and fourth questions, a significant difference was found between the groups in terms of scores (p < 0.05). The mean MDAS score obtained from the 1st year students (12.72 ± 4.72), was found to be significantly higher than the mean MDAS score obtained from the 2nd year students (10.29 ± 4.22) (p < 0.05). Conclusion: As oral and dental health programs students’ level of knowledge about dental treatments increases, their dental anxiety decreases. In line with these data, dental anxiety levels can be reduced by increasing the level of education and dental knowledge of individuals.