Oorzaken van behandelangst bij jonge kinderen

Vroege ervaringen in de behandelstoel bij de tandarts kunnen invloed hebben op het beleven van pijn en angst bij latere behandelingen. Zweedse onderzoekers gingen bij groep jongeren na of daarnaast ook factoren als aard en gemoedsgesteldheid een relatie laten zien met latere behandelangst.

The sample included 263 randomly selected 15-year old individuals living in the municipality of Jönköping, Sweden. The school, parental and adolescent consent was acquired. Three self-reported questionnaires were used, one included items of sociodemography, while the others dealt with dental anxiety assessed by the Dental Fear Survey (DFS) and temperament assessed by an adapted version of The EAS Temperament Survey for Children modified for adults, the EASI temperament survey. Results. The results showed that 6.5% of the adolescents were classified as dentally anxious and with girls proportionally more fearful than boys. The three temperaments activity, impulsivity and emotionality were significantly correlated with dental anxiety. A hierarchical multiple linear regression analysis showed that pain at the last dental appointment or previous pain experiences during dental care treatment were the strongest predictors regarding dental anxiety in 15-year olds. The temperament dimensions activity and impulsivity were also significantly predictive of dental anxiety. Conclusions. Although some of the temperament dimensions are correlated with dental anxiety, which may emphasize an important finding with regard to personality, this study showed that previous pain experiences during dental care treatment is a strong predictor for high dental anxiety in 15-year olds.

Bron
Stenebrand A, Wide Boman U, Hakeberg M. Dental anxiety and temperament in 15-year olds. Acta Odontol Scand 2013 ;71:15-21. doi: 10.3109/00016357.2011.645068. Epub 2012 Jan 3.