Dental beliefs: Evaluation of the Swedish version of the revised Dental Beliefs Survey in different patient groups and in a non-clinical student sample

The aim of this study was to evaluate and to test the psychometric properties of a Swedish version of the revised Dental Beliefs Survey (DBS-R) in different patient groups and in a non-clinical sample of students. It was hypothesized that negative dental beliefs, assessed using the DBS-R, would discriminate between fearful and non-fearful study groups. The questionnaire was distributed together with the Dental Anxiety Scale (DAS). The sample included 550 adults who responded to the questionnaires (206 students, 177 general dental patients, 105 periodontal patients and 62 patients at a waiting list for dental-fear treatment). The internal drop-out rate was low. The results confirmed that the DBS-R discriminates well between fearful patients and the other study groups. The DBS-R had a high internal consistency in all the study groups. Furthermore, the DBS-R correlated significantly with age (higher values in younger age groups) and the DAS. Regression analyses showed that the DBS-R subdimensions of 'communication' and 'control'/or 'trust', respectively, were significant predictors for dental fear. The results suggest that the DBS-R is a reliable and valid instrument for use in different Swedish patient- and non-clinical population groups in order to assess attitudes to dentists. However, the underlying factor structure of the DBS-R needs to be further explored and established.