Dental Phobia among Pregnant Women: Considerations for Healthcare Professionals

Objective. To report the prevalence of dental phobia and associated factors among pregnant women. Materials and Methods. This cross-sectional study included pregnant women visiting hospitals in Dhahran, Khobar, and Dammam in Saudi Arabia. The Modified Dental Anxiety Scale (MDAS) was used to assess d...

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Main Authors: Muhammad Nazir, Muhanad Alhareky
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2020-01-01
Series:International Journal of Dentistry
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2020/4156165
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author Muhammad Nazir
Muhanad Alhareky
author_facet Muhammad Nazir
Muhanad Alhareky
author_sort Muhammad Nazir
collection DOAJ
description Objective. To report the prevalence of dental phobia and associated factors among pregnant women. Materials and Methods. This cross-sectional study included pregnant women visiting hospitals in Dhahran, Khobar, and Dammam in Saudi Arabia. The Modified Dental Anxiety Scale (MDAS) was used to assess dental anxiety and phobia. The score of MDAS ranges from 5 to 25, and a cutoff value of 19 was used to identify participants with dental phobia. Results. The study analyzed data of 825 participants with mean age of 29.08 ± 5.18 years. The prevalence of dental phobia was 16.1%. About 46.9% of the sample believed that dental treatment should be avoided during pregnancy, and the importance of regular dental checkup was recognized by 16.4% of the participants. Dental phobia was associated with the perception of the health of teeth (P 0.004) and gums (P 0.016). Multiple logistic regression showed that being under the age of 30 years (OR 0.63, P 0.019) and updating knowledge about oral health (OR 0.49, P 0.006) were significantly associated with reduced likelihood of dental phobia. However, having bad dental experience (OR 2.13, P 0.001) and being in first trimester of pregnancy (OR 1.57, P 0.033) were significantly associated with increased odds of dental phobia. Conclusions. A considerable proportion of pregnant women reported dental phobia. The bad dental experience was associated with increased dental phobia. However, reduced likelihood of dental phobia was associated with updating oral health knowledge. Healthcare professionals may consider these factors to reduce dental phobia and improve oral health of pregnant women.
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spelling doaj-art-bb38f70665b243cd9bcd5e34352f41472025-08-20T02:19:21ZengWileyInternational Journal of Dentistry1687-87281687-87362020-01-01202010.1155/2020/41561654156165Dental Phobia among Pregnant Women: Considerations for Healthcare ProfessionalsMuhammad Nazir0Muhanad Alhareky1Department of Preventive Dental Sciences, College of Dentistry Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Preventive Dental Sciences, College of Dentistry Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi ArabiaObjective. To report the prevalence of dental phobia and associated factors among pregnant women. Materials and Methods. This cross-sectional study included pregnant women visiting hospitals in Dhahran, Khobar, and Dammam in Saudi Arabia. The Modified Dental Anxiety Scale (MDAS) was used to assess dental anxiety and phobia. The score of MDAS ranges from 5 to 25, and a cutoff value of 19 was used to identify participants with dental phobia. Results. The study analyzed data of 825 participants with mean age of 29.08 ± 5.18 years. The prevalence of dental phobia was 16.1%. About 46.9% of the sample believed that dental treatment should be avoided during pregnancy, and the importance of regular dental checkup was recognized by 16.4% of the participants. Dental phobia was associated with the perception of the health of teeth (P 0.004) and gums (P 0.016). Multiple logistic regression showed that being under the age of 30 years (OR 0.63, P 0.019) and updating knowledge about oral health (OR 0.49, P 0.006) were significantly associated with reduced likelihood of dental phobia. However, having bad dental experience (OR 2.13, P 0.001) and being in first trimester of pregnancy (OR 1.57, P 0.033) were significantly associated with increased odds of dental phobia. Conclusions. A considerable proportion of pregnant women reported dental phobia. The bad dental experience was associated with increased dental phobia. However, reduced likelihood of dental phobia was associated with updating oral health knowledge. Healthcare professionals may consider these factors to reduce dental phobia and improve oral health of pregnant women.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2020/4156165
spellingShingle Muhammad Nazir
Muhanad Alhareky
Dental Phobia among Pregnant Women: Considerations for Healthcare Professionals
International Journal of Dentistry
title Dental Phobia among Pregnant Women: Considerations for Healthcare Professionals
title_full Dental Phobia among Pregnant Women: Considerations for Healthcare Professionals
title_fullStr Dental Phobia among Pregnant Women: Considerations for Healthcare Professionals
title_full_unstemmed Dental Phobia among Pregnant Women: Considerations for Healthcare Professionals
title_short Dental Phobia among Pregnant Women: Considerations for Healthcare Professionals
title_sort dental phobia among pregnant women considerations for healthcare professionals
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2020/4156165
work_keys_str_mv AT muhammadnazir dentalphobiaamongpregnantwomenconsiderationsforhealthcareprofessionals
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