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This study investigated whether the behaviors from the Dental Discomfort Questionnaire (DDQ) could help identify toothaches in children with a learning disability, who have a limited capacity to self-report. The objectives were to examine whether the behaviors from the DDQ occur more often in children with a learning disability who have caries and a toothache than in children who do not have caries and a toothache; and secondly, to examine whether two additional items increase the specificity and sensitivity of the DDQ to recognize a toothache, in this particular population of children with a learning disability. The DDQ was completed by a convenience sample of 58 parents on behalf of their children: 31% girls, aged between 6 and 13 years (mean = 7.5, SD = 2.7). Of the total group, 26% (n = 15) suffered from a toothache and 43% (n = 25) had carious teeth. Children with caries and a toothache had a significantly higher mean DDQ score and displayed more toothache-related behaviors (e.g., problems with chewing, problems with brushing teeth) than children without caries or toothache. The DDQ seems to be a functional and easy-to-use instrument to alert parents to the presence of a toothache in this specific group of children with a learning disability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the present study is to get an insight into the pain report of children over two sequential dental visits. Furthermore, it was studied whether age, previous dental experience, level of dental anxiety and injection site were of influence on the self-reported pain of children during the first and second treatment session. One hundred and forty-seven children (4-11 years old) were included in the study. After receiving a local anesthesia injection prior to their dental treatment, they were asked how much pain they had felt. The level of dental anxiety was measured once by the parental version of the Dental Subscale of the Children's Fear Survey Schedule. Young children with a low level of dental anxiety show a sensitized reaction trend for self-reported pain over two sequential dental visits. Young children with a high level of dental anxiety reported the most pain on the first treatment session. For the older children, the children having previous dental experience gave the highest pain ratings on the first treatment session. Furthermore, for both young and older children the amount of pain reported for the second injection was best predicted by the amount of pain reported for the first injection, whereby higher scores the first time predict higher scores the second time. In conclusion, the memory of previous experience with dentistry and earlier treatment sessions seems of great influence on the behaviour and the experience of children during subsequent treatment sessions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This cross-sectional study aimed to explain the nature of needle phobia and its relationship in dental phobic children with evidence on age-related differences. Methods: The study used 2,865 patients (52% boys, 48% girls), 4 to 11 years old (mean=7.18 years). The patient sample included randomly selected patients (N=2,153) and an anxious group of children (N=712). Children were divided into 3 age groups (4-6, 7-9, and 10-11 years). The Children Fear Survey Schedule - Dental Subscale (CFSS-DS) was used to assess age-related needle phobia (CFSS-DS question 3) and dental anxiety. Children were arranged into 3 anxiety groups (cutoffs=scores of 25 and 37). Children who scored ≥37 were considered needle-phobic. Statistical analysis was performed using Statistics for Windows 10. Results: Needle phobia progressively decreases with increasing age (19% of 4- to 6-year-old vs 11% of 10- to 11-year-old needle phobics; P d05). Stepwise regression analysis revealed needle phobia does not primarily seem to be related to dental anxiety. Other aspects, like having had someone examine the mouth and the dentist drilling, contribute the most to dental anxiety in both low- and high-anxiety children. Fear of doctors is more specific for high-anxiety children (P d05). A significant age-related difference regarding needle phobia is found between children ages 4 to 6 and 7 to 9 and between children ages 4 to 6 and 10 to 11 (P d001). Conclusions: Needle phobia is age related, but should be considered a separate phenomenon. It is not specific for dental anxiety and is related to other painful treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on the parental principles regarding the origins of child dental fear in the Netherlands. It states that several factor lead to dental fear including negative dental experience, social factors, and personality factors. It also discusses the prevention of dental fear by educating and helping parents to learn to deal with children's dental fear.

This study was conducted among 203 children (103 boys) referred to a centre for special dental care because of a high level of dental fear. It was undertaken to explore to what extent behavioural and emotional problems co-exist in these children compared with children of a Dutch norm group. The children's present filled out the parental version of the Child Behaviour Checklist (CNCL), before their first appointment at the center. The behavioural and emotional problems of the children were assessed by this CBCL, and the mean scores of the children in the study were compared with the mean scores of the norm group. The mean scores on all scales, except on the subscale 'sex problems', of the children with a high level of dental fear proved to be significantly higher than the mean scores of the norm group (P≤0.001). The results indicated that children referred to a special dental care centre not only suffer from high dental fear but also have problems in several other behavioural and emotional areas. These problems appear to be heterogeneous; they were found in several specific problem area, both external and internal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study by Henk J. Groen and colleagues, published in the July-August 1999 issue of the journal, that clarifies fearful experiences of children at the major Dutch Special Dental Care Centres (SBT). It discusses responses of mailed questionnaires related to the visit and behavior of children to dentists. Within one or two years, 60 percent of them required medicinal treatment and most them have started visiting family dentists than dental practitioners.

The Dental Subscale of the Children's Fear Survey Schedule (CFSS-DS) is a well-known instrument for assessing dental fear in children. Previous studies have shown that the scale has acceptable reliability and validity. Factor analysis using scores of a group of Finnish schoolchildren resulted in three factors. No other data on the factor structure have been published. In order to report on the factor structure of the Dutch parental version of the CFSS-DS, the present study was undertaken. Factor analysis using scores from a group of Dutch children (n=150) demonstrated a factor pattern fairly similar to the results found in the Finnish study. Three factors were found: 1) fear of highly invasive dental procedures, 2) fear of less invasive aspects of treatment and 3) fear of medical aspects. Considering that almost all items load substantially (≥0.20) on more than one factor, it seems that one primary underlying dimension exists: fear of invasive treatment aspects. The CFSS-DS is proposed as a reliable, one-dimensional measure of dental fear. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To determine changes in dental anxiety levels of cleft lip and/or palate (CL/P) children and to explore the role of coping strategies in the development of their dental anxiety., Design: Prospective study., Setting: Free University Medical Center Amsterdam., Patients: A sample of CL/P children (at T1: n = 153, 4 to 18 years, 67 girls; at T2: n = 113, 7 to 21 years, 51 girls). Data were available at both time points for 102 children., Measures: Dental anxiety and coping strategies were assessed at the start of the study (T1; mean age: 9.8 years, standard deviation 4.1) and 3 years later (T2; mean age: 13.4 years, standard deviation 3.8). These scores were compared to a normative group of Dutch children., Main Outcome Measure(s): The severity of dental anxiety was indexed using the Parental Version of the Dental Subscale of the Children's Fear Survey Schedule. Dental coping strategies were assessed with the Dental Cope Questionnaire., Results: Overall, dental anxiety decreased to a level equal to normative scores of Dutch children. However, 5% of the children became more anxious. At T2, children used significantly fewer coping strategies. Children whose level of dental anxiety increased significantly used more destructive coping strategies than children whose level of dental anxiety decreased significantly or remained stable., Conclusions: Results suggest that dental anxiety levels of most CL/P children gradually decline over time. Whereas some coping strategies have the potential to be protective, more destructive coping strategies may put children at greater risk for developing and maintaining their dental anxiety.

The investigation was performed on 113 adolescents in the age between 15 and 18 years (63 boys, 50 girls). Corah Dental Anxiety Scale (CDAS) and Children's Fear Survey Schedule - Dental Subscale (CFSS-DS) were used for evaluation of dental fear and Child Medical Fear Questionnaire (CMFQ) for evaluation of the fear of medical treatment. Achenbach Youth Self Report questionnaire (YSR) was used for evaluation of emotional and behavioral problems. The tests were filled in by children. The aim of the study was to evaluate the level of dental anxiety in adolescents and to assess a cause--consequence relationship between dental anxiety and emotional and behavioral problems in adolescents. The results of CDAS, CFSS-DS and CMFQ tests showed that dental anxiety scores and the total internalizing problems were higher in girls. Girls displayed more physical problems (p < 0.001) and were more prone to anxiety/depression disorders (p < 0.05). Both boys and girls were more aggressive, more prone to delinquent behaviour and had more externalizing problems in comparison with the average values obtained for the Croatian population. Significant correlation coefficients for boys were calculated for age and anxiety/depression, and delinquent behaviour and aggression (p < 0.05). Significant correlations were observed between physical problems and dental anxiety measured by the CFSS-DS test (p < 0.01), and between physical problems and the total internalizing problems (p < 0.05). In girls, the CMFQ scores showed significant correlations between dental anxiety and physical problems (p < 0.05), and anxiety/ depression (p < 0.01) and the total internalizing and externalizing problems (p < 0.05). Significant correlations were calculated for age and the total internalizing and externalizing problems for boys (p < 0.05). According to the results of both CDAS and CMFQ tests, anxiety in girls showed significant correlations with delinquent behaviour (p < 0.01). CDAS scores for girls showed significant correlations with aggression (p < 0.05) and the total externalizing problems (p < 0.01).

Purpose: The objective of this study was to analyze the assessment of pain and distress by the child, dentist, and independent observers during a dental injection and study the relationship between the different assessments., Methods: The amount of pain experienced by the child during local anesthesia was reported independently by the child to both the dentist and parent on a 4-point scale running from "no pain" to "a lot of pain." The dentist and observers also gave a score for the pain experienced on a 4-point scale. The amount of distress experienced by the child during local anesthesia was assessed by the dentist and observers using a 6-point scale (from "relaxed" to "out of contact")., Results: The dentists' pain assessment was the lowest. A substantial correlation was found between the child's self-reported pain and the pain as assessed by independent observers. There was a moderate correlation between the amount of distress and pain intensity as reported by the child during the anesthesia phase., Conclusions: Observation of a child in a videotaped procedure is apparently the most reliable method to accurately assess pain behavior and to discriminate pain from distress. A combination of the child's report and video observation is advised to assess pain in young children.