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Background: Studies on anxiety in patients having intra-alveolar extraction as well as the effect of patient's sociodemographic characteristics influencing level of associated anxiety are few in our environment. The aim of this study was to statistically analyze the sociodemographic determinants of dental anxiety in patients scheduled for intra-alveolar extraction., Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 93 consecutive patients attending the outpatient clinic of the Department of Maxillofacial Surgery, University of Benin Teaching Hospital for intra-alveolar extraction in the months of November and December 2013. An interview-based questionnaire, Corah Dental Anxiety Scale Revised (DAS-R), was administered to evaluate levels of dental anxiety. Sociodemographic characteristics of the subjects were recorded. Descriptive statistics and regression models were done with the independent variables (sociodemographic factors) and the dependent variable being the DAS-R. A P<0.05 was considered significant., Results: The internal consistency of the scale used as determined by Cronbach alpha was 0.76. Mean DAS score was 8.12±2.58. Dental anxiety and age of subjects showed significant inverse relationship. Females had a higher mean DAS score (8.76) than the males (7.37) (P=0.006). Residence (urban/rural) was not statistically significant. Singles reported the highest DAS score (9.41) (P=0.006). The educational level attained was significantly related to dental anxiety (P=0.005). Those with secondary school education had the highest DAS score (9.26). Class V social status had the highest mean anxiety score (P=0.012). Stepwise linear regression showed that the best predictors for dental anxiety were sex (P=0.008) and marital status (P=0.026)., Conclusion: This present study demonstrates that sex and marital status are the predictive factors for dental anxiety in the overall management of patients indicated for intra-alveolar extraction.

Aim: This was to investigate the ability of Nigerian parents to predict their child's dental anxiety level and the relationship between the child's dental anxiety, general anxiety and behaviour in the dental chair., Methods: A group of 53 mothers and 35 fathers and their respective children completed schedules that measured general and dental anxiety. The child's behaviour on the dental chair was also assessed. The child's self report of dental anxiety and general anxiety was compared with that of the parents. Dental anxiety ratings by the children and parents were correlated with the behaviour assessment of the dentist. Statistical significance was determined at <0.05., Results: There was no statistically significant difference between the parent's assessment of their child's dental anxiety level and the child's self report (t=0.389; p=0.689). However, the mothers were able to rate their child's dental anxiety level better than the fathers (r=0.497 and p<0.001 for mothers, r=-0.049 and p=0.789 for fathers). Also there was a moderate correlation between the child's self reported dental anxiety and general anxiety levels (r=0.58, p<0.05) and a low correlation between the clinical behaviour ratings and the child's self reported dental anxiety level (r=0.10, p>0.05)., Conclusion: The Nigerian mothers could be relied upon to make objective assessment of their child's dental anxiety. General anxiety appears to play a significant role in dental anxiety development in Nigerian children who appear to behave well in the dental chair despite their reported dental anxiety levels.

This study sought to establish the reliability and validity of a short form of the Dental Subscale of the Child Fear Survey Schedule (DFSS-SF). The schedule was administered twice to 23 children who had not attended a dental clinic for dental treatment before. The second administration was done two weeks after the first. They had no preknowledge of the second administration of the schedule. The children's behaviour during treatment was also assessed using the Frankl's scale. An additional assessment was also made using the dichotomy "anxious" or "not anxious". Analysis of the reliability was done using the Cronbach's coefficient alphas as well as the Pearson product-moment coefficient. The overall coefficient alphas for the DFSS-SF was 0.82 (p < 0.0001). A test retest correlation of 0.73 (p < 0.0001) was obtained. On comparison of the DFSS-SF with the Frankl's scale, a significant difference was found in the psychometric scores of the children grouped as anxious and no anxious. Also, on comparison of the DFSS-SF with the dichotomy scale, a highly significant difference between the two was observed (p = 0.005). A good negative correlation was found between the second administration of the DFSS-SF and Frankl's scale (r = -0.54; p = < 0.01). The DFSS-SF is a reliable and valid instrument for measuring dental anxiety in Nigerian children. However the study needs to be replicated on a larger number of children.