Title: Dental anxiety in first- and final-year Indian dental students

Abstract

Objectives: The study aims to investigate dental anxiety in first- and final-year undergraduate dental students in India.

Design: Questionnaire Study

Setting: BDS Students in four University dental colleges in India carried-out during 2013 and 2014.

Subjects (materials and methods): The students (n = 614) were assessed using a pre-tested questionnaire. We estimated the level of dental anxiety by using the Modified-Dental-Anxiety-Scale (MDAS). ANCOVA and Mann-Whitney U, and Chi-squared contingency tests were employed to analyse the extensive dataset acquired. Univariate clustering analysis and principal component regression were also applied. Students had similar demographic and lifestyle patterns.

Interventions: Assessments of the level of dental anxiety amongst undergraduate dental students

Main outcome measures: Mean±SD MDAS scores for first- and final-year Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) students were acquired.

Results: Six hundred and fourteen (n = 614) students from four dental colleges were included in this study. Seventy-seven % were female (n=478) and 23% were male (n=136). The mean age of the first- and final-year students were 18.31 and 21.54 years respectively. First-year BDS students had an increased level of dental anxiety (Mean±SD 12.96±4.00) compared to that of the final-year ones (10.54±3.41), a difference which was very highly statistically significant (p<0.0001).

Conclusion(s): Dental anxiety was significantly higher amongst first year BDS students over that of final-year students.