Abstract :
Introduction: Fear to visit the dentist is a common observation in adults & children.
Aim: To study the relationship between dental fear and oral health behaviour of 12 and 15 years old school children of Muradnagar, Ghaziabad.
Materials and Methods: 200 school going children aged 12 and 15 years were evaluated for children’s fear survey schedule dental subscale (CFSS-DS) and oral health behaviour by a questionnaire. Level of dental fear was assessed on 5-point likert scale from 1 “not afraid at all” to 5 “very afraid” covering 15 items and their behaviour towards oral health. Data analysis was done by SPSS version 18.
Results: Out of 200 respondents, 142 were boys & 58 were girls.7 had scores equal to or greater than 38 & were classified as having “high dental fear”. High dental fear was present among girls and was found absent among boys.
Conclusion: Reported association between oral health behaviour and dental fear should not be overlooked by the dentist for children.
Keyword :
Dental Anxiety, Dental Fear, Oral Health, School Children