Dental fear, anxiety, and phobia; causes, diagnostic criteria and the medical and social impact

Abstract

Despite technological advances in modern medical science and practice, many people still associate dental treatment with unpleasant emotional sensations and pain. According to the current literature, dental fear and anxiety are psychological barriers that negatively affect frequency of patient attendance which results in avoidant behavior and poorer oral health-related quality of life. This paper was therefore aimed at discussing basic theoretical aspects concerning diagnostic criteria, causes, and impacts of dental fear, anxiety, and phobia. Clarifying their differential diagnostic characteristics, clinical features and specific causes may play an important role in proper diagnosing, positive influencing, and management of this group of patients, thus providing the opportunity for increasing quality of dental healthcare services as well as improving patient’s dental health and self-perceived quality of life.

Keywords

• dental fear
• anxiety
• dental phobia
• panic disorder
• agoraphobia
• oral health-related quality of life