Dental fear in a special needs clinic population of persons with disabilities.

Full Abstract

This study reports findings from a survey of dental fear in a special needs dental clinic population. Subjects were recruited from the University of Washington's Dental Education in Care of Persons With Disabilities (DECOD) clinical program (n = 132). Dental fears were assessed using the Kleinknecht Dental Report. Fear levels were examined among patients with differing categories of primary disabilities and between genders, races and educational levels. Some level of dental fear was reported by 43.2% of the respondents, indicating that dental fear may be an important factor in dental care for this population. Gender and educational level were significantly associated with fear levels (both p < 0.05). Significant differences in fear levels were found between individuals with differing classes of disability. Accompanying caregivers also were interviewed (n = 72) to allow for a comparison of patient and caregiver perceptions. Both patient and caregiver were interviewed whenever possible to create paired reports. Generally, caregivers significantly overestimated fear levels compared with patients (p < 0.01). However, when scores were compared in matched caregiver-patient analyses, the fear scores were not significantly different, indicating that caregivers accurately estimated their client's level of dental fear. A regression model including disability group, gender, and years of education was significant for predicting fear level as measured by the Kleinknecht survey (p = 0.02). We conclude that dental fear may be a significant, though little understood problem for a population of persons with disabilities as well as for their oral care providers, and that further investigation is needed.

Author information

Author/s: Martin, Michael D (MD); Kinoshita-Byrne, Jamie (J); Getz, Tracy (T);

Affiliation: University of Washington School of Dentistry, Seattle 98195, USA. mickeym(-atsign-)u.washington.edu

Grants: T35 DE07150 (Agency:NIDCR NIH HHS)

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Comparative Study; Journal Article; Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

Journal: Special care in dentistry : official publication of the American Association of Hospital Dentists, the Academy of Dentistry for the Handicapped, and the American Society for Geriatric Dentistry (Spec Care Dentist), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: -2002 May-Jun; vol 22 (issue 3) : pp 99-102

Dates: Created 2002/09/20; Completed 2002/12/09; Revised 2007/11/14;

PMID: 12240894, status: MEDLINE (last retrieved date: 2/18/2009)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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