Gadbury-Amyot C C, Williams K B
Division of Dental Hygiene, University of Missouri Kansas City School of Dentistry, USA.
J Contemp Dent Pract. 2000 Feb 15;1(2):42-59.
Studies aimed at examining gender and age differences as they relate to dental anxiety have begun to appear in the literature. The purpose of this investigation was to explore fear and anxiety in a dental hygiene setting and evaluate gender and age differences among four sub-scales of dental hygiene fear. The Dental Hygiene Fear Survey (DHFS) was developed to address patient reaction to dental hygiene treatment. The University of Washington Dental Fears Model was the theoretical model used for it identifies four domains of dental fear: fear of specific stimuli, generalized anxiety, fear of catastrophe, and distrust. Males and females respond differently to dental hygiene treatment with women reporting significantly (p<.05) greater fear overall than males. Examination of the four dental hygiene fear sub-scales show that females report greater fear (p<.05) in relation to specific fear and generalized anxiety. There were no significant differences across age categories on total fear scores or within any of the sub-scales. Characterization of the dental hygiene fear patient along with knowledge of procedures that elicit anxiety can assist the practitioner in recognizing dental hygiene-related fear. With this foundation, the practitioner can then develop management strategies specific to this phenomenon.
旨在研究与牙科焦虑相关的性别和年龄差异的研究已开始出现在文献中。本调查的目的是探讨口腔卫生环境中的恐惧和焦虑，并评估口腔卫生恐惧四个子量表中的性别和年龄差异。口腔卫生恐惧调查（DHFS）旨在解决患者对口腔卫生治疗的反应。华盛顿大学牙科恐惧模型是用于它的理论模型，该模型确定了牙科恐惧的四个领域：对特定刺激的恐惧、广泛性焦虑、对灾难的恐惧和不信任。男性和女性对口腔卫生治疗的反应不同，女性报告的总体恐惧明显（p<0.05）高于男性。对四个口腔卫生恐惧子量表的检查表明，女性在特定恐惧和广泛性焦虑方面报告的恐惧更大（p<0.05）。不同年龄组在总恐惧得分或任何子量表内均无显著差异。对口腔卫生恐惧患者的特征描述以及对引发焦虑的程序的了解可以帮助从业者识别与口腔卫生相关的恐惧。在此基础上，从业者可以制定针对这一现象的管理策略。
