Resumen

MACHETE, ML; MADIBA, TK  y  MOTLOBA, PD. Comparability of the single-item Visual Analog Scale (VAS-A) to the multi-item Modified Dental Anxiety Scale (MDAS) - A systematic review and meta-analysis. S. Afr. dent. j. [online]. 2025, vol.80, n.2, pp.83-87. ISSN 0375-1562.  https://doi.org/10.17159/sadj.v80i02.20196.

BACKGROUND: Anxiety is associated with delayed dental attendance and treatment, leading to worsened intra-operative experiences for patients and clinicians. Ultimately, clinicians must reliably evaluate and manage dental anxiety to improve patient compliance and overall oral health status. AIM: The purpose of this study was to estimate the reliability of the visual analog scale for anxiety (VAS-A) compared to the modified dental anxiety scale (MDAS). METHODOLOGY: This systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted according to PRISMA guidelines. Comprehensive Meta-Analysis (CMA) 4.0 software was used to analyse data from 17 included studies. RESULTS: The random effects model was selected due to high heterogeneity, yielding a correlation of 0.730 (95% CI: 0.615-0.815) between VAS-A and MDAS. CONCLUSION: A high correlation between VAS-A and MDAS confirms the reliability of the tool. Given its simplicity and ease of use, the VAS-A should be incorporated in routine assessment of dental anxiety in dental settings.

Palabras clave : Dental anxiety; reliability; VAS; MDAS.

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