RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: The aims of this study were to determine the prevalence of dental fear, the relationship between dental fear and dental caries and the dentist appearance most likely to reduce anxiety among children. In this way, dental treatment could be made more effective by changing the dentist's appearance. STUDY DESIGN: The "Children's Fear Survey Schedule-Dental Subscale" and a questionnaire 'designed to examine the children's preferences for their dentist's appearance', were administered to 810 patients between 6-12 years of age. Patients were examined after completing the questionnaires, and their DMFT/dmft indexes were determined. Patients were divided into three subgroups according to their CFSS-DS scores. RESULTS: Among patients, anxiety scores differed significantly by age and gender (p=0.046, p=0.001). Specifically, higher anxiety scores were identified among 6- to 8-year-olds and in female patients relative to their respective counterparts. A statistically significant association between anxiety and dental caries was detected. (DMFT p=0.030/dmft p=0.015), and DMFT/dmft scores were found to be higher among patients with high levels of dental anxiety than among patients with low levels of dental anxiety. Additionally, children were highly perceptive of and exhibited strong preferences for the appearance of their dentist. CONCLUSION: Anxiety and dental caries were associated; small alterations in a dentist's appearance may reduce dental anxiety among children.
