Luoto Anni, Tolvanen Mimmi, Rantavuori Kari, Pohjola Vesa, Karlsson Linnea, Lahti Satu
Department of Community Dentistry, Institute of Dentistry, University of Turku , Turku , Finland.
Acta Odontol Scand. 2014 Nov;72(8):942-7. doi: 10.3109/00016357.2014.923582. Epub 2014 Jun 12.
The aim was to study longitudinal changes in dental fear among children and one of their parents separately for girls, boys, mothers and fathers over a 3.5-year period.
11-12-year-old children in Pori, Finland (n = 1691) and one of their parents were invited to participate in this longitudinal study. Dental fear was measured in 2001, 2003 and 2005 when the children were 11-12, 13-14 and 15-16-years-old, respectively. The participants were asked if they were afraid of dental care (1 = 'not afraid', 2 = 'slightly afraid', 3 = 'afraid to some degree', 4 = 'quite afraid', 5 = 'very afraid' and 6 = 'I don't know'). The participants' gender was also registered. Mean values of the change scores were studied. Prevalence and incidence of dental fear and changes in dichotomized dental fear (responses 4-5 = high dental fear and responses 1-3 = low dental fear) were studied using cross-tabulations and Cochran's Q test.
Overall, the prevalence of dental fear slightly increased and female preponderance in dental fear became more evident during the follow-up. Of the mothers and children with high dental fear at the baseline, 24% and 56%, respectively, reported not to be fearful at the end of the follow-up.
Dental fear seems to be more stable in adulthood than in childhood. Thus, it might be better to intervene in dental fear during childhood rather than during adulthood.
本研究旨在分别研究3.5年期间女孩、男孩、母亲和父亲中儿童及其父母之一的牙科恐惧纵向变化。
邀请芬兰波里市11 - 12岁的儿童（n = 1691）及其父母之一参与这项纵向研究。分别在2001年、2003年和2005年测量牙科恐惧，当时儿童分别为11 - 12岁、13 - 14岁和15 - 16岁。询问参与者是否害怕牙科护理（1 = “不害怕”，2 = “有点害怕”，3 = “有些害怕”，4 = “相当害怕”，5 = “非常害怕”，6 = “我不知道”）。还记录了参与者的性别。研究了变化分数的平均值。使用交叉表和 Cochr an Q检验研究牙科恐惧的患病率、发病率以及二分法牙科恐惧（反应4 - 5 = 高度牙科恐惧，反应1 - 3 = 低度牙科恐惧）的变化。
总体而言，在随访期间，牙科恐惧的患病率略有增加，并且女性在牙科恐惧方面的优势更加明显。在基线时患有高度牙科恐惧的母亲和儿童中，分别有24%和56%在随访结束时报告不再恐惧。
牙科恐惧在成年期似乎比在儿童期更稳定。因此，在儿童期而非成年期干预牙科恐惧可能更好。
