Peretz B, Efrat J
Department of Paediatric Dentistry, Hebrew University-Hadassah Faculty of Dental Medicine, PO Box 12272, Jerusalem, Israel.
Int J Paediatr Dent. 2000 Jun;10(2):126-32. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-263x.2000.00181.x.
To evaluate adolescents' dental anxiety using self-reported questionnaires previously given to adults.
One hundred and four patients (42 boys, 62 girls) aged 12-18 years who attended their paediatric dentist completed a questionnaire in the waiting room. The survey consisted of three sections: sociodemographic information for the children, a dental anxiety scale (DAS), and a dental fear survey (DFS).
The scores of the girls were higher than the boys in every DAS item as well as in the total score. Girls showed higher DFS scores than boys in most items. The most anxiety-provoking stimuli were feeling and seeing the needle. In the most anxiety provoking stimuli, among the boys who reported higher DFS scores (categories 3, 4, 5), the DAS scores were higher than the scores of the girls. As the stimulus became less anxiety-provoking, such as sitting in the dental chair, the DAS scores of the girls in these categories were higher than boys. Significantly more girls' responses were in categories 3, 4 and 5 in the items dealing with the needle and the drill, while no significant difference was observed among the boys and girls regarding sitting in the dental chair.
It is concluded that individual personality traits may be the final factor to indicate those who will eventually develop higher dental anxiety, and those who will not. The difference could be also in the conditioning process and learned responses (male and female education) that these individuals have experienced in life.
使用先前用于成年人的自我报告问卷来评估青少年的牙科焦虑。
104名年龄在12至18岁之间的儿科牙科患者（42名男孩，62名女孩）在候诊室完成了一份问卷。该调查包括三个部分：儿童的社会人口学信息、牙科焦虑量表（DAS）和牙科恐惧调查（DFS）。
在每个DAS项目以及总分中，女孩的得分均高于男孩。在大多数项目中，女孩的DFS得分高于男孩。最能引发焦虑的刺激是感觉到和看到针头。在最能引发焦虑的刺激中，在报告DFS得分较高（3、4、5类）的男孩中，DAS得分高于女孩。随着刺激的焦虑程度降低，例如坐在牙科椅上，这些类别中女孩的DAS得分高于男孩。在涉及针头和牙钻的项目中，女孩的反应明显更多地处于3、4和5类，而在坐在牙科椅方面，男孩和女孩之间未观察到显著差异。
得出的结论是，个体人格特质可能是表明最终会产生较高牙科焦虑的人和不会产生较高牙科焦虑的人的最终因素。差异也可能在于这些个体在生活中经历的条件作用过程和习得反应（男性和女性教育）。
