Introduction:

The research on mood states in dental consultation has focused mainly on pediatric ages; however, it is important to know what happens in other age groups.

Objective:

To evaluate the mood of older adults prior to a first-level dental procedure at the Zaragoza University Health Care Clinic.

Materials and methods:

An exploratory, observational, cross-sectional study was carried out with a sample of 34 older adults (22 women and 12 men) with an average age of 69.2. The sample selection was non-probabilistic for convenience. The Mood Assessment Scale was used, which is a self-report instrument, validated in the adult population, for clinical and non-clinical conditions.

Results:

A high score was found in the joy subscale with a mean of 6.63 and a standard deviation of 2.7. For the mood subscales considered negative such as Anxiety, a mean of 3.5 and a standard deviation of 2.5 was obtained. For Sadness -Depression, a mean of 3.1 and a standard deviation of 3.0 were obtained; and finally for the Anger-Hostility subscale, a mean of 2.7 and a standard deviation of 3.1 were obtained.

Conclusion:

Low levels were found in negative mood states for the subscales of Anxiety, Sadness-Depression and Anger-Hostility. Meanwhile, in positive mood states there is a high level, both in item and in the subscale of Joy.

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