RESUMO
OBJECTIVES: This study estimated the prevalence of dental fear/anxiety (DFA) in Southeast Asian youths and established their dental environment and practitioner preferences. METHODS: A convenience sample of youths were enrolled from a local polytechnic. The Index of Dental Anxiety and Fear (IDAF-4C) was used to ascertain the presence and severity of DFA. Socio-demographic and IDAF-4C data, along with participants' dental environment and practitioner partialities were gathered electronically. Statistical evaluations were performed with Kruskal-Wallis and Chi-square tests (α = 0.05). RESULTS: Data from a total of 215 participants were appraised. The mean age of the study sample was 18.9 ± 2.0 years (87.4% women). Of these, 12.6% had moderate-to-high DFA and 6.0% had high-to-extreme DFA. As a group, Southeast Asian youths generally liked dental clinics with adorned walls, cooler temperatures, magazines/books, background music and audio-visual devices. In addition, they favoured female practitioners who are younger (≤45 years old), friendly, talkative and maintain a professional relationship. However, those with high-to-extreme DFA preferred a warmer clinic environment and to have an informal relationship with their dental practitioners (p = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of moderate-to-extreme DFA in Southeast Asian youths was 18.6%. Individuals with high-to-extreme DFA may have disparate dental environment and practitioner preferences compared to those with no-to-moderate DFA.