Dental Experience, Anxiety and Oral health in Low Income Chennai Children

Abstract

Background: Dental problems are more common in children nowadays due to the change in food habits. Various treatment modalities are available including fillings, root canal treatment, and crown. The ambience in the dental clinic and the noise created by the compressor, suction apparatus make the child apprehensive, low-income children have more exposure to noises and their fear threshold are more compared with high-income children. This study was to evaluate the prevalence of dental anxiety and the factors influencing dental anxiety and poor oral health among low-income children in Chennai. Materials and Methods: One hundred and fifty children were examined who reported to Pedodontic Department in Saveetha Dental College, Chennai. The oral health status of male and female patients was assessed based on the decayed, filled teeth index, simplified oral hygiene index (OHI), and Streptococcus mutans score. The assessment excluded the patient who had facial deformities, and mentally retardant, suffering from congenital diseases. Dental anxiety was assessed using the facial image scale and Frankl scale. Early dental experience was classified as: no previous dental visits; preventive control; restorative treatment; and emergency visit. Results: Dental caries is the key factor for the child to visit the dental clinic. The dental setup and its factors are one of the triggering agents to child’s anxiety and previous dental experiences. Patients with systemic problems have a high rate of dental caries. Conclusion: In low-income children, prior dental experiences of six-year-old children were directly related to their dental caries experience. Children who had preventive visits and those who had never seen a dentist before had low rates of dental caries. Patients have a low percentage of dental visits for their preventive treatment due to the unawareness of their parents. Simplified OHI and dental anxiety levels showed no statistically significant differences among the types of previous dental experiences