Nivel de ansiedad que presentan los pacientes previo a la atención odontológica, en la clínica odontológica de la Universidad Finis Terrae en el año 2022

Abstract

The objective of this research study is to determine the levels of anxiety that patients present prior to dental care, in the dental clinic of the Finis Terrae University in 2022. For this, a cross-sectional descriptive observational study was carried out with an effective approach population of 215 patients who met in the waiting room at the Dentistry Clinic of the Finis Terrae University, using the Modified Corah Scale (MDAS) questionnaire, which consists of 5 items, which allow the patient to be positioned between the levels of "anxiety mild/none” to “severe anxiety” The prevalence of Dental Anxiety was 35.8% null or mild, 28.8% presented moderate anxiety, 14.4% high anxiety and 20.9% presented severe levels of anxiety in the selected sample. Anxiety was higher in the female sex and in the age range of young adults (18 - 25 years) with 70.7%. Dental anxiety is explained as an emotional state of worry and stress limited to the dental environment. Such a state may involve flashbacks, nightmares, intrusive images, sleep difficulties, irritability, and concentration problems, even if dental treatment is not imminent. It has been shown that the persistence of this dental anxiety generates a delay or evasion in dental care, appointment cancellations and a greater perception of pain during treatment; In addition to being a significant predictor of poor oral health and, therefore, it generates a reduction in quality of life, causing comorbidities with generalized anxiety and depression disorders. This research seeks to generate comprehensive dental care for patients considering both physical and mental health. In this last area, dental anxiety stands out, where professionals must be prepared to know how to identify and manage it properly. For this, it is necessary to have a vast knowledge about the instruments to recognize it, approach techniques and treatment alternatives. It would be interesting to carry out future investigations regarding how the number of appointments that the patient has in treatment influences, the affiliation with the treating person and to carry out a crossover of variables between the previous negative dental experience and the age of the participants.