Table 2.
Mean Dental Anxiety Scale (DAS) total scores, DAS categories, self-assessment of dental anxiety and phobic stimuli, as indicated by patients with chronic periodontitis and controls
| Item | Variable | Chronic periodontitis group | Control group | P* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Self-assessed dental anxiety | Yes | 68 (68.7) | 7 (14.3) | <0.001 |
| No | 31 (31.3) | 42 (85.7) | ||
| Phobic stimuli | ||||
| Dental injections | Yes | 61 (61.6) | 6 (13.6) | <0.001 |
| No | 38 (38.4) | 38 (86.4) | ||
| Dental drill noise | Yes | 32 (32.3) | 3 (7.0) | 0.001 |
| No | 67 (67.7) | 40 (93.0) | ||
| Foreign object in the mouth | Yes | 31 (31.3) | 5 (11.6) | 0.013 |
| No | 68 (68.7) | 38 (88.4) | ||
| DAS categories | Mild anxiety | 49 (49.5) | 27 (55.1) | 0.036 |
| Moderate anxiety | 28 (28.3) | 20 (40.8) | ||
| High anxiety | 15 (15.2) | 1 (2.0) | ||
| Phobia | 7 (7.1) | 1 (2.0) | ||
| Total DAS score | 8.9 ± 3.6 | 8.1 ± 2.4 | 0.122 | |
Values are given as n (%) or mean ± standard deviation.
P-values were calculated using the chi-square test, except for total DAS score which was calculated using the Independent t-test.
P values in bold denote statistical significance (P < 0.05).