Patterns of Dental Anxiety in Primary Schoolers Attending Oral Health Education Program

Background/Aims: Dental anxiety is a common problem which develops mostly in childhood. The level of dental anxiety perceived by the primary schoolers were determined with Facial Image Scale (FIS) while receiving oral dental health education in their classroom environment. Methods: FIS were applied to 163 third-grade primary schoolers while they were having oral health education course in an interactive way. Gender, white dental attire, and past dental experience(s) were pre-determined variables evaluating the pattern of dental anxiety in the third-grade primary schoolers in this study. Results: The overall anxiety level in children was 46.01%, with no significant difference observed between genders (p=0.4593). Students who were educated by instructors wearing white dental attire were more likely to have a 1 2 FIS score (OR: 3.9 (1.3-11.7); p=0.0156). However, students who had past dental experience expressed significantly more 4 5 FIS scores (OR: 4.38 (2.17-8.85); p < 0.001). Conclusions: Regardless of gender white dental attire created a positive perception in 9-year-old students, but the presence of past dental experience and a history of tooth extraction especially under local anesthesia caused negative perception in the study.