Examining the modified scale of dental anxiety in patients referred to the dental faculty of dentistry of Isfahan University and its affiliated clinics in 2022-2023

Introduction: One of the aspects of health is taking care of oral health, but sometimes being in the dental office is accompanied by anxiety that makes it impossible to provide dental services and it leads to a decrease in the self -confidence of the dentist and negative changes in the health indicators of the society. Knowing the factors affecting anxiety can be effective in improving this situation. The aim of the study was to investigate the modified dental anxiety scale (MDAS) in patients referred to the Faculty of Dentistry of Isfahan University and its affiliated clinics in 2022-2023.
Methods: The level of dental anxiety in 695 patients was evaluated using a questionnaire. The minimum score was 5 and the maximum score was 25. Scores of 11 to 14 indicate moderate anxiety, score of 15 to 19 indicate high anxiety, and score of 19 and above indicate severe anxiety requiring special attention. After collecting the data, the data was analyzed using statistical tests with p<0.05 by SPSS 26.
Results: The prevalence of anxiety in the studied population was 49.8% of witch 50.2% had low anxiety , 21.2% had moderate anxiety, 27.5% had high anxiety, and 1.15% had severe anxiety requiring special attention .The average dental anxiety score was calculated as 11.54±4.22 .The average score of anxiety in women was significantly higher than that of men (p<0.001).Also , there was a significant relationship between anxiety and having a previous bitter experience of going to the dentist (p<0.001).
Conclusion: Almost half of the studied population had anxiety. The state of dental anxiety in these patients was reported to be moderate. This highlights the importance of effective communication between dentists and patients and using strategies to reduce stress and anxiety in them.
Keywords: Anxiety - Dental anxiety - Dentistry