The Journal of Contemporary Dental Practice, Volume 1, No. 2, Winter Issue, 2000
Conclusion
Individuals cannot be completely healthy unless they are free from the burden of oral disease. Dental fear and anxiety have been identified as one of the principal barriers for individuals seek-ing needed dental care (Healthy People 201020). Continued characterization of dental and dental hygiene fear patients is necessary to assist the practitioner in identifying and subsequently man-aging diverse patient populations.
This study demonstrated that male and female subjects reacted differently to dental hygiene treatment with females reporting greater fear and anxiety overall. Females reported a more extreme response in the domains of specific fear and generalized anxiety. Age was not a signifi-cant factor in the patient’s reaction to dental hygiene treatment.
