DENTAL ANXIETY SCALE IN EXODONTIA PATIENTS

Objectives: The objectives of the study were to determine the frequency of dental anxiety, its age, gender distribution and to find out the fear of local anesthesia amongst patients reporting for extraction to the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Khyber College of Dentistry Peshawar. Material and Methods: Questionnaires were constructed with questions directed at covering the necessary variables and using the International Dental Anxiety Scale to determine the anxiety level of the patients. The study was carried out in the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Khyber College of Dentistry over a period of 4 months. Results: A total of 200 patients were questioned in this study and out of these 27% were phobic. Severe anxiety was noted in 14.5% of patients, 19.5% were moderately anxious, 28% mildly anxious and 11% were not anxious at all. The ratio of phobic female patients was greater than males, 5.75:1. Conclusion: Our study showed high frequency of phobia. This highlights the need for implementation of integrated dental care to patient’s treatment. This will ensure patients comfort and will bring a positive increase in dental attendance of patients.