Beliefs and Fears about Dental Care in an Emergency Clinic

Objectives: Psychosocial factors such as fear and negative beliefs about the dentist have been implicated in avoidance of dental visits (e.g., Doerr et al., 1998; Moore et al., 1996).  Fear has been associated with symptomatic treatment-seeking behavior, often driven by a need to relieve pain (Armfield, Stewart, & Spencer, 2007).  This study aimed to examine the relation between dental care-related fears, dental beliefs, and fear of pain in a rural, Appalachian population and to determine the impact of dental care-related fear on reasons for dental visits.  Methods: Patients (n = 66) of a university emergency dental clinic (50% female; mean age = 35.4 years, SD = 15.1) completed the Dental Fear Survey (DFS), Dental Beliefs Scale (DBS), and Fear of Pain Questionnaire (FPQ) in addition to a demographic questionnaire.  Results: Dental fear was associated with negative attitudes regarding dentists/dental treatment and with fear of pain; DFS scores were positively correlated with DBS scores, r(65) = .67, p < .001, and FPQ scores r(65) = .52, p < .001.  Surprisingly, DFS, DBS, and FPQ scores were not associated with amount of time since last dental visit for this sample.  However, for participants reporting higher levels of dental fear, 74% indicated that “pain” was the reason they typically visited the dentist, while 51% of patients reporting lower levels of dental fear indicated that “pain” was the reason.  Conclusions: In an Appalachian emergency dental clinic, where patients receive symptomatic care, greater dental fear is associated with more negative beliefs about the dentist and fear of pain.  Additionally, pain appears to be a motivating factor for clinic visits more often for dentally fearful patients than for those not as fearful.  Future research with this population should address how dental care-related fears, dental beliefs, and fear of pain impact symptomatic treatment-seeking behavior over the long-term.