Rauch Angelika, Hahnel Sebastian, Schierz Oliver
Department of Prosthodontics and Materials Science, University of Leipzig, Liebigstr, Leipzig, Germany, Phone: +49 341 9721 310, e-mail:
Department of Prosthodontics and Materials Science, University of Leipzig, Liebigstr, Leipzig, Germany.
J Contemp Dent Pract. 2019 Jan 1;20(1):3-7.
The aim of this study was to identify the influence of dental fear, pain, and impaired oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) on patients seeking care in a German emergency dental service.
Patients attending the emergency dental service at the University of Leipzig (Germany) were consecutively recruited and completed three questionnaires, including a visual analog scale for pain, the dental fear survey (DFS), and the oral health impact profile (OHIP-49).
A total of 307 patients attended the emergency dental service and 286 agreed to take part in the study. The mean age was 41.7 years (50.4% males). The pain was reported by 87.2 % of the subjects, and their main reason for seeking care was a toothache (52.6 %). Regarding psychosocial characteristics, the mean OHIP and DFS scores were 40.0 and 47.6, respectively. For dentally fearful patients, a significantly higher impairment of OHRQoL was identified than for subjects with less or no fear. 33.2% of the participants irregularly consulted a dentist, and 58.4% of these patients were categorized as dentally fearful.
The current investigation identified a high pain intensity as well as a high prevalence of dental fear, and a high impairment of OHRQoL in patients seeking care in an emergency dental service.
The results of the current study might help to develop specific services for patients with dental fear, which can successively reduce the number of emergency dental treatments.
本研究旨在确定牙科恐惧、疼痛以及口腔健康相关生活质量受损对在德国急诊牙科服务机构就诊患者的影响。
连续招募在德国莱比锡大学急诊牙科服务机构就诊的患者，并让他们完成三份问卷，包括疼痛视觉模拟量表、牙科恐惧调查问卷（DFS）和口腔健康影响程度量表（OHIP - 49）。
共有307名患者前往急诊牙科服务机构就诊，286名同意参与研究。平均年龄为41.7岁（男性占50.4%）。87.2%的受试者报告有疼痛，他们就诊的主要原因是牙痛（52.6%）。在社会心理特征方面，OHIP和DFS的平均得分分别为40.0和47.6。与恐惧程度较低或无恐惧的受试者相比，牙科恐惧患者的口腔健康相关生活质量受损程度明显更高。33.2%的参与者不定期看牙医，其中58.4%的患者被归类为牙科恐惧患者。
本次调查发现，在急诊牙科服务机构就诊的患者疼痛程度高、牙科恐惧患病率高且口腔健康相关生活质量受损严重。
本研究结果可能有助于为牙科恐惧患者开发特定服务，从而逐步减少急诊牙科治疗的数量。
