Assessment of dental anxiety among patients visiting for endodontic treatmentsin a tertiary care hospital

Abstract

Introduction: Dental anxiety is a significant concern for both dentists and patients. Till date, no study has been conducted in Nepal about dental anxiety during Root canal Treatment (RCT). Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluatedental anxiety among patients undergoingendodontic Treatment in a Tertiary care hospital.

Methods: A total of One hundred twelve patients presenting for an endodontic visit were recruited for the study. A questionnaire was administered andModified Dental Anxiety Scale (MDAS) was used as an assessment tool to record level of anxiety. Data were analyzed in SPSS version 24. Mean anxiety scores before and after treatment were compared using paired t test, differencebetween males and females were analyzed using independent t-test while comparisions among different age groups were performed using one way ANOVA followed by Post Hoc tukey test.

Results: Anxiety was detected more frequently in females than in males both before treatment (p < 0.001) and after treatment (p = 0.020). Before endodontic treatment, the mean dental anxiety score was 10.13 ± 2.95, which significantly reduced to 8.28 ± 2.53 after treatment. There was statistically significant reduction in dental anxiety following treatment (t = 7.19, p < 0.001).

Conclusions: Females are more anxious than males while receiving endodontic treatment. The mean dental anxiety score was usually reduced after the first endodontic session. This shows that clinicians can significantly reduce patient distress with effective pain management.