Risk factors of anxiety related to dental care in a population of western Algeria

Introduction: Dental anxiety is a frequent phenomenon whose causes and predisposing factors vary from one population to another. The objective of our study is to estimate the prevalence of dental anxiety and its intensity within the Oran population, and to identify the risk factors. Methods: This is a monocentric analytical descriptive study conducted in the Department of Oral Pathology and Surgery of Oran University Hospital over two months using a semi-structured questionnaire. The level of care-related anxiety was assessed by the Corah score. The study of the risk factors was carried out by a multivariate analysis by logistic regression. Results: 311 individuals participated in the study. The prevalence of anxiety was 56.6%. The average anxiety score was 9.87. Anxiety was moderate in 94 (30.3%) participants, severe in 13.4%, and 47 participants (15.2%) suffered from dental care phobia. The multivariate analysis retained five factors significantly associated with anxiety in the final model: gender (P = 0.009), negative attitude of the dentist (P = 0.004), fear of the sound of dental drill (P = 0.018), screems of patients in the chair (P <10^-4), and pain caused by the dental act (P = 0.029). Conclusion: Anxiety related to dental care is common in the Oran population. The identification of risk factors will undoubtedly improve patient care by acting on anxiety factors.