Özet:

Objective: Dental anxiety is a major complication for many patients and practitioners. Dental fear often results in poor oral health in regard to poor cooperation. The aim of the present study was to determine the dental anxiety and its relation to socio-demographic status and periodontal health in adults. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, a total of 187 patients were asked to complete a questionnaire consisted of the questions gathering information on sex, age, education level, income level, smoking habits and the last dental visit. The questionnaire also included Modified Dental Anxiety scale (MDAS) administered in Turkish language. The oral health status was determined with Community Periodontal index (CPI). Results: Based on MDAS scores, 54% of the subjects had mild anxiety, 41.7% had moderate anxiety, and 4.3% had severe anxiety. Anxiety was affected by age and gender (p<0.05), but monthly income, education level, or smoking status had no effect on dental anxiety (p>0.05). Participants with higher CPI scores had significantly higher dental anxiety compared to those of lower CPI scores (p<0.05). Conclusion: Encouragement of young individuals for regular dental visits since childhood would help to lower the dental anxiety. Frequent dental visits might prevent the negative dental experiences and contribute to decrease the dental fear.

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