Dental fear in patients pursuing orthodontic treatment

Introduction: Dental fear is a common occurrence characterised by an essential and inevitable emotion that appears as a response to dental procedures which may prohibit patients from getting orthodontic treatment. The main goal of the survey was to analyse different causes and the most fearful aspect of the treatment in patients undergoing orthodontic treatment. Material and methods: Descriptive cross- sectional study was done that included hospitals in Islamabad. Duration of study was from October to December, 2016. Both males and females reporting for orthodontic treatment that consented to participate in the study were included. All patients were asked to fill the questionnaire regarding their fears about the said treatment using a structured questionnaire. Results: A total of 200 questionnaires were distributed among the patients undergoing orthodontic treatment for the study. Out of these questionnaires 193 were finally selected to be included in the study and the rest were excluded due to incomplete/improper answering. Out of 193 patients 85(44%) were males and 108(56%) were females. Dental fear was higher in the young adults and more in females as compared to males. The most common cause observed among both the genders was extraction (54%), whereas out of all the fears, the common cause of fear among males was the fear of extraction (42.3%) and fear of injection (64.8%) among females. Conclusions: Orthodontists should recognise the existence of dental fear in patients coming for treatment and create an awareness of the problem. To reduce these fears, they need to develop skills to communicate effectively with the patients before undertaking any treatment.