Introduction:

Anxiety is an emotional state related to the unfamiliar situations commonly associated with dental care.

Objective:

Evaluate the anxiety status of patients during dental care.

Methods:

An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted of a convenience sample composed of 300 patients attending a dental care reference center in the southern region of the state of Ceará in Brazil. Information was collected about age, sex, perception of oral health, toothache, previous dental treatment and psychological aspects. Anxiety status was evaluated with the Modified Dental Anxiety Scale. The study was approved by the local Research Ethics Committee with protocol number 1.759.075.

Results:

Of the 300 patients selected for the study, 222 were women (74.0 %) and 78 were men (26.0 %); mean age was 32.7 years. Regarding anxiety, 22.7 % (n= 68) of the patients studied had anxiety symptoms. Bivariate analysis revealed a statistically significant relationship between anxiety and women (p= 0.004) and patients with a history of unpleasant experiences at the dentist (p= 0.015).

Conclusions:

Prevalence of anxiety is higher among women. Previous unpleasant experiences or suffering at the dentist may be important factors associated to dental anxiety.

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