Harding A, Vernazza C R, Wilson K, Harding J, Girdler N M
Monkgate Dental Department, 31-33 Monkgate, York.
Centre for Oral Health Research, School of Dental Sciences, Newcastle University, Framlington Place, Newcastle.
Br Dent J. 2015 Apr 10;218(7):415-20; discussion 421. doi: 10.1038/sj.bdj.2015.249.
Dental anxiety is a barrier to attendance. Dental non-attenders may seek emergency care and may prefer to receive anxiety management measures for treatment required. Little is known about the preferences of these dental non-attenders for different anxiety management techniques. Understanding such preferences may inform management pathways, improve experiences, alleviate anxieties and encourage a more regular attendance pattern. As such, the aim of this study was to gain a greater understanding of the dental anxiety of patients attending a dental access centre for emergency dental treatment and to ascertain preferences for different anxiety management techniques.
Cross-sectional study involving self-completed questionnaires and clinical observation.
NHS Dental Access Centre, York, UK.
Two hundred participants not registered with a general dental practitioner, aged 18 years or over, experiencing pain and self-referred were recruited on a consecutive sampling basis. Participants completed a questionnaire eliciting demographic and dental history details, dental anxiety and preferences for dental anxiety management options.
Correlation of the modified dental anxiety scale with preference for different dental anxiety management techniques.
No significant predictive factors were found that explained preferring local anaesthetic to sedation, or general anaesthesia for restorations or extractions. Those highly anxious were less likely to consider tell-show-do techniques (p=0.001) or watching explanatory videos (p=0.004) to be helpful for overcoming their anxieties than the low or moderate anxiety groups.
People attending access centres may represent a group who are unwilling to explore non-pharmacological methods to overcome their anxieties. This supports the need for sedation to provide treatment. Future work may include exploring in more depth the thoughts and opinions of this group of patients to improve understanding of their complex dental attitudes. From this, more effective strategies may be developed to encourage regular dental attendance.
牙科焦虑是就诊的一个障碍。未就诊的牙科患者可能会寻求急诊治疗，并且可能更倾向于在接受所需治疗时接受焦虑管理措施。对于这些未就诊的牙科患者对不同焦虑管理技术的偏好知之甚少。了解此类偏好可能会为管理途径提供信息、改善就医体验、减轻焦虑并鼓励更规律的就诊模式。因此，本研究的目的是更深入地了解前往牙科急诊中心接受急诊牙科治疗的患者的牙科焦虑情况，并确定他们对不同焦虑管理技术的偏好。
采用横断面研究，涉及自我填写问卷和临床观察。
英国约克郡国民保健服务牙科急诊中心。
连续抽样招募了200名未在普通牙科医生处注册、年龄在18岁及以上、有疼痛症状且自行前来就诊的参与者。参与者完成了一份问卷，该问卷收集了人口统计学和牙科病史细节、牙科焦虑情况以及对牙科焦虑管理选项的偏好。
改良牙科焦虑量表与对不同牙科焦虑管理技术的偏好之间的相关性。
未发现能解释为何比起镇静或全身麻醉，患者更倾向于局部麻醉进行修复或拔牙的显著预测因素。与低焦虑或中度焦虑组相比，高焦虑患者认为“告知-展示-操作”技术（p = 0.001）或观看解释性视频（p = 0.004）有助于克服焦虑的可能性更小。
前往急诊中心就诊的人群可能是一群不愿探索非药物方法来克服焦虑的人。这支持了使用镇静剂进行治疗的必要性。未来的工作可能包括更深入地探索这群患者的想法和意见，以增进对他们复杂牙科态度的理解。由此，可能会制定出更有效的策略来鼓励定期就诊。
