Table 3.
Mean dental fear scores in relation to dental history
| Dental history variables | N (%) | Mean (SD) | 95% CI | Test value (P value) |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Previous dental exposure | Yes | 1340 (88) | 25.88 (9.1) | 25.4–26.4 | 1.441† (0.230) |
| No | 182 (12) | 26.76 (10.6) | 25.2–28.3 | ||
| Dental visit in previous year | Yes | 843 (55.4) | 26.00 (9.1) | 25.4–26.6 | 0.007† (0.931) |
| No | 679 (44.6) | 25.96 (9.6) | 25.2–26.7 | ||
| Why didn’t your child visit dentist last year? | Money | 56 (4.3) | 26.30 (9.8a) | 23.7–28.9 | 7.53‡ (< 0.001*) |
| No pain | 410 (26.9) | 25.58 (9.1a) | 24.7–26.5 | ||
| No time | 48 (3.2) | 25.33 (9.2a) | 22.6–28.0 | ||
| Not needed | 187 (12.3) | 25.01 (8.1a) | 23.8–26.2 | ||
| Child fear | 52 (3.4) | 36.33 (14.2) | 32.4–40.3 | ||
| Frequency of dental visits | Regular | 130 (8.5) | 24.34 (6.7ac) | 23.2–25.5 | 7.161‡ (< 0.001*) |
| With pain | 1014(66.6) | 26.76 (10.8b) | 25.9–27.1 | ||
| Sometimes | 196 (12.9) | 23.62 (6.6c) | 22.7–24.5 | ||
| Never | 182 (12) | 26.51 (9.7ab) | 25.2–28.3 | ||
| Previous dental treatment | Examination | 617 (40.5) | 25.50 ± 8.8 | 24.8–26.2 | 1.52‡ (0.179) |
| Anaesthesia | 214 (14.1) | 25.69 ± 8.3 | 24.6–26.8 | ||
| Extraction | 527 (34.6) | 26.56 ± 9.7 | 25.7–27.4 | ||
| Filling | 659 (43.3) | 25.56 ± 9.1 | 24.9–26.3 | ||
| Prophylaxis | 225 (14.8) | 26.48 ± 10.1 | 25.1–27.8 | ||
| Others | 89 (6.4) | 24.56 ± 7.7 | 22.9–26.1 | ||
| Child behaviour during previous visit/s§ | Crying | 90 (5.9) | 34.51 (11.3a) | 32.1–36.9 | 32.5‡ (< 0.001*) |
| Screaming | 49 (3.2) | 30.29 (12.3ab) | 26.8–33.1 | ||
| Resistant | 373 (24.5) | 28.00 (9.7bc) | 27.0–29.0 | ||
| Cooperative | 738 (48.5) | 24.12 (7.8d) | 23.6–24.7 | ||
| Happy | 122 (8%) | 22.83 (7.0d) | 21.6–24.1 | ||
| I don’t know | 135 (8.9) | 26.07 (9.9dc) | 24.4–27.8 | ||
| Pain during previous dental treatment/s§ | Yes | 456 (30) | 28.82 (10.87a) | 27.8–29.8 | 38.20‡ (< 0.001*) |
| No | 420 (27.6) | 23.54 (7.97b) | 22.8–24.3 | ||
| A little | 631 (41.5) | 25.53 (8.35c) | 24.9–26.1 | ||
N total number of children, SD standard deviation, CI confidence interval
*Statistically significant (P < 0.05), ‡Analysis of variance, † t-test
Means sharing the same alphabetical letter superscripts are not significantly different from each other (post-hoc, P ≥ 0.05)
Means that have different alphabetical letter superscripts are significantly different from each other (post-hoc, P < 0.05)
§15 (1%) of parents did not answer the question regarding the behaviour of their children