ANXIOUS BEHAVIOR AMONG UNDERGRADUATE DENTAL STUDENTS - A QUESTIONNAIRE SURVEY

Abstract

Background: One of the most phobias that can lead to rejection of dental treatment is dental anxiety. Anxiety and tension associated with dental care may result in mild systemic problems including syncope and hyperventilation. However, in a few cases, the patient can develop acute heart failure or have a stroke. Anxiety and fear, in general, can make pain worse.  As a result, these students must think about the strategies that can assist them in overcoming their dental phobia. They would be more confident doctors if their anxiety levels were lower, and they would be able to handle their patients better.

Aim: The aim of this research was to evaluate the anxious behavior among dental students.

Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 100 first year dental graduates in a private dental institution. A structured close ordered questionnaire covering demographic characteristics, speciality, preferences and factors that influenced career preferences, ethical aspects. All the responses were collected and exported in SPSS version 2.3 software and the association was measured using a chi-square test to assess the significance level with p<0.05.

Results: A total of 100 students participated in the survey. In demographics more than half of the participants were female (62%) and rest were males (38%). Most respondents considered the dental profession a stressful speciality. Therefore more focus is needed to achieve better education performance and a better lifestyle.

Conclusion: Overall, there was a high level of distrust of dental care, necessitating further preventive measures and the incorporation of dental health educational services into the system.  As a consequence, dental anxiety is one of the obstacles to dental service use.