Dental anxiety and symptoms of general anxiety and depression in 15-year-olds

Objectives: The objective of the study was to analyse the relationship between dental anxiety and symptoms of general anxiety and depression among 15-year-old individuals. Methods: The sample analysed included 221 randomly selected 15-year-old individuals living in the city of Jonkoping, Sweden. One questionnaire captured sociodemography and dental history, while dental anxiety was assessed by the Dental Fear Survey (DFS) and symptoms of general anxiety and depression by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Results: About 6% of the adolescents were classified as dentally anxious. Symptoms of general anxiety and depression were significantly correlated with dental anxiety in both the bivariate and multivariate analyses. The latter analyses were adjusted for gender and previous painful experiences of dental care. Individuals with high dental anxiety showed general anxiety scores on a clinical level (mean=9.8, SD=4.3). Conclusions: Symptoms of general anxiety and depression were shown to be significantly correlated with dental anxiety among 15-year-old individuals.