COMPARATIVE ASSESSMENT OF DENTAL ANXIETY AMONG CHILDREN AGED 3-14 YEARS USING PICTURE AND NON-PICTURE TESTS

Gawthaman M., Kamatchi M.*, Patil Disha, Veerabadhran Mahesh Mathian, Vinodh S., Manoharan M.

ABSTRACT

Background: Child dental anxiety is stressful problem among the children as well as the dentist. So, the dentist must be able to determine their anxiety levels prior to treatment. For this purpose official assessment measures are necessary. Aim: To assess and compare the levels of dental anxiety among children aged 3 to 14 years using picture tests like Venham picture test and Facial image scale and non-picture tests like Corah‟s dental anxiety scale and Modified dental anxiety scale. Materials and methods: A total number of 100 healthy children aged 3 to 14 years during their first dental visit were randomly selected for the study. Childs anxiety level was measured using Venham picture test, facial image scale, Corah‟s dental anxiety scale and modified dental anxiety scale and they were compared with each other. Statistical analysis: Student‟s „ t‟ test was used to compare the mean anxiety ratings and Pearson correlation test was done to correlate the anxiety levels of children. Results: In the age group of 3-6 years, drastic difference was observed in anxiety levels compared between picture and non picture tests, whereas moderate difference was observed among the age group of 7-10 years. Furthermore no difference was noted between anxiety levels of 11-14 years. 70% of the children reported picture scale was more convenient than non picture scale. Conclusion: This study suggests that picture scales may be more appropriate than the non-picture methodology in predicting dental anxiety in children.

Keywords: Corah?s dental anxiety scale, Dental Anxiety, Facial image scale, Modified dental anxiety scale, Venham picture test.