Dental anxiety associated with orthodontic care: Prevalence and contributing factors

Dental anxiety specifically associated with orthodontic treatment has not been well studied. This is in part because of the use of general dental anxiety scales to assess orthodontic dental anxiety, and the assumption that dental anxiety may not exist in orthodontic patients because of the lack of evoking stimuli (i.e., drills, needles) typically associated with orthodontic treatment. The research objective is to assess the prevalence of and factors contributing to general and orthodontic dental anxiety. Data was collected using a questionnaire asking about general dental anxiety, anxiety associated with orthodontic treatment (orthodontic dental anxiety), and contributing factors. Participating patients (n = 675) were 64.3% female, mean (SD) age 17.6 (6.9) years; with 24.9% being future orthodontic patients and 75.1% current patients (p < 0.05). 18.7% reported orthodontic dental anxiety, with 11.0% reporting both general dental and orthodontic dental anxiety and 7.7% reporting only orthodontic dental anxiety. Future orthodontic patients reported higher levels of orthodontic dental anxiety (35.1%) than current patients (13.2%; p < 0.05). This difference was not associated with practice location. Factors contributing to patients' anxiety were their relationship with the orthodontist, perceptions of orthodontic treatment and treatment factors. Results confirm orthodontic dental anxiety exists and is reported more so in future than current patients. Patient concerns contributing toorthodontic dental anxiety should be addressed in order to reduce patients' anxiety related to orthodontic care.