Maternal Anxiety and Child Fear during Dental Procedures: A Preliminary Study
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess the levels of dental fear, state anxiety, and physiological distress in children and their mothers during pediatric dental procedures and to investigate the associations between these variables.
Methods: Forty children and their mothers who visited six pediatric dental clinics in Tokyo, Japan, participated in this study. Dental fear was assessed using the dental subscale of the Children's Fear Survey Schedule (CFSS-DS) and the Dental Fear Survey. Children completed the pre- and post-treatment State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children-State (STAIC-S), and mothers completed the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-State (STAI-S). Pre- and post-treatment salivary alpha amylase (sAA) levels were measured to assess physiological distress. Paired t tests and Pearson's correlation coefficients were used for statistical analyses.
Results: State anxiety scores and sAA levels significantly differed between pre- and post-treatment in mothers (P=.007 and P<.02, respectively) but not in children. Pretreatment STAI-S scores in mothers were correlated with CFSS-DS scores in children (r=.348, P<.03), but pretreatment STAI-S and STAIC-S scores were not.
Conclusions: Maternal anxiety before children's dental treatment was significantly associated with children's dental fear.
Methods: Forty children and their mothers who visited six pediatric dental clinics in Tokyo, Japan, participated in this study. Dental fear was assessed using the dental subscale of the Children's Fear Survey Schedule (CFSS-DS) and the Dental Fear Survey. Children completed the pre- and post-treatment State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children-State (STAIC-S), and mothers completed the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-State (STAI-S). Pre- and post-treatment salivary alpha amylase (sAA) levels were measured to assess physiological distress. Paired t tests and Pearson's correlation coefficients were used for statistical analyses.
Results: State anxiety scores and sAA levels significantly differed between pre- and post-treatment in mothers (P=.007 and P<.02, respectively) but not in children. Pretreatment STAI-S scores in mothers were correlated with CFSS-DS scores in children (r=.348, P<.03), but pretreatment STAI-S and STAIC-S scores were not.
Conclusions: Maternal anxiety before children's dental treatment was significantly associated with children's dental fear.
Keywords: DENTAL ANXIETY; PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESS; SALIVARY ALPHA-AMYLASES
Document Type: Research Article
Affiliations: 1: Department of Pediatric Dentistry, School of Life Dentistry, Nippon Dental University, Tokyo, Japan. [email protected] 2: Department of Pediatric Dentistry, School of Life Dentistry, Nippon Dental University, Tokyo, Japan 3: Department of Pediatric Dentistry, School of Life Dentistry, at Nippon Dental University, Tokyo, Japan
Publication date: 01 May 2014
- Acquired after the merger between the American Society of Dentistry for Children and the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry in 2002, the Journal of Dentistry for Children (JDC) is an internationally renowned journal whose publishing dates back to 1934. Published three times a year, JDC promotes the practice, education and research specifically related to the specialty of pediatric dentistry. It covers a wide range of topics related to the clinical care of children, from clinical techniques of daily importance to the practitioner, to studies on child behavior and growth and development. JDC also provides information on the physical, psychological and emotional conditions of children as they relate to and affect their dental health.
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