Resumo

MOYO, T; KRUGER, C  e  MADIBA, TK. Dental fear and anxiety of patients visiting selected oral health centres in Gauteng. S. Afr. dent. j. [online]. 2025, vol.80, n.3, pp.143-148. ISSN 0375-1562.  https://doi.org/10.17159/sadj.v80i03.21074.

INTRODUCTION: Dental fear is a concerning public health matter and still prevalent among individuals across communities. Studies have reported greatly varying statistics on the prevalence of dental phobia ranging from 5% to 7%, with other authors reporting higher prevalence rates AIM AND OBJECTIVES: To assess the prevalence of dental fear and anxiety and identification of phobia induced factors and stimuli in patients visiting selected oral health centres in Gauteng DESIGN: Quantitative cross-sectional study comprising South African women and men 18 years and older residing in Gauteng visiting government facilities (Wits Oral Health Centre (WOHC) and Chiawelo Clinic) and private facilities (Mofolo Dental Surgery and Tembisa Dental Surgery METHODS: Information was obtained using a modified, self-administered questionnaire which included the Modified Dental Fear Survey (MDFS). The patient's questionnaire had two sections consisting of sociodemographic information and questions from the MDFS. Data was analysed with the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 29. Quantitative variables were summarised as proportions, frequencies and mean with their standard deviations and percentages. A Chi-square test was used to evaluate the association between variables and the level of significance was set at p< 0.05 RESULTS: The response was 100% of the calculated sample size of 610 patients. The mean age of participants was 28 years (SD=±8.92 years) with more than half of them being male 330 (54%). About 21% of the participants indicated they have dental fear all the time, while 35% indicated they had dental fear sometimes. The vibration of the drill and sight of the needle were the most fear-provoking stimuli in general for all patients. Significantly more females had dental anxiety as compared to males, p<0.05. There was no association between level of education, employment status and dental anxiety, p >0.05 CONCLUSION: This study showed that dental fear is prevalent and leads to patients neglecting their oral care. About 21% of the patients indicated they have dental fear all the time. The results demonstrated a significant difference between males and females, with higher levels of anxiety in women than males, p <0.05. There was no association between level of education, employment status and dental anxiety, p >0.05

Palavras-chave : Dental phobia; dental anxiety; oral health; dentist; patients.

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