Young Adults' Perceptions of Dental Procedures

Information about young adults’ perceptions of dental procedures is needed. This study investigated factors related to fear of three common dental procedures: drilling, getting a shot, and getting one’s teeth cleaned. Four hundred and seventy-six college students completed a survey assessing dental fears. Most of the participants (73%) were fearful of dental visits in general. Of the three dental procedures, participants were most fearful of drilling. Participants reporting they were more afraid of going to the dentist also reported higher levels of fear for the specific dental procedures. Further, females reported greater fear for all of the procedures compared to males. Findings suggest that having a fearful attitude about going to the dentist may increase fear of specific procedures. Future research should examine relations among dental fears and observable behaviors during dental procedures. A person’s fear of the dentist can influence his or her satisfaction with the dental visit and in turn, the patient’s regularity of seeing the dentist (1). Dental fear and the resulting avoidance of the dentist can have serious consequences for oral health (2). With an estimated 35 million Americans suffering from dental fear (3), it is important to investigate factors related to this fear. While the preponderance of the literature is based on adults’ and children’s dental habits and fears (4-5), less is known about the dental practices of college-age students. Thus, the focus of this study was to examine the specific fears of college students. Persons who have a general impression that going to the dentist is a fear-provoking experience may view specific procedures, such as getting a shot or drilling, with more fear than persons reporting lower general fears of going to the dentist (6). Results of several research studies have demonstrated that persons of all ages report being “afraid” of going to the dentist (3, 5). Additionally, research has shown that many are afraid of specific dental procedures including the site of an anesthetic needle, the feeling of an injection, and the sight, sound, and feeling of a drill (3). Studies investigating fears of different dental procedures are needed to determine whether general fears are related to fears of specific dental experiences. One aim for the current study was to investigate the relationship between reports of fear of the dentist and impressions of fear related to specific dental procedures, including getting one’s teeth cleaned, drilling, and getting a shot. Gender also is related to dental fear. Among adults, the preponderance of research studies has indicated that females have higher dental fear than males (4, 7). However, one study found that adult males expressed higher levels of dental fear than adult females (3). Thus, this remains an area for investigation. Other researchers (8) investigated dental fear in a population of 20-year-olds and found that females were more likely to endorse multiple dental fears than males. These researchers examined multiple fears as an aggregate variable as opposed to examining each fear separately. The current study extends their research by investigating undergraduates’ perceptions of fear when undergoing three dental procedures: drilling, getting a shot, and getting one’s teeth cleaned.