Evaluating a single dental anxiety question in Finnish adults

: Viinikangas A, Lahti S, Yuan S, Pietilä I, Freeman R, Humphris G

: 2007

: Acta Odontologica Scandinavica

: Acta odontologica Scandinavica

: Acta Odontol Scand

: 65

: 4

: 236

: 40

: 5

: 0001-6357

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00016350701395932

To evaluate the psychometric properties (criterion validity, construct validity, sensitivity, and specificity) of a single-item question screening for dental anxiety in a Finnish adult population.\nA total of 823 subjects, ranging in age from 18 to 87 years, answered a questionnaire comprising sections assessing the respondents' demographic profile and dental attendance patterns. A single dental anxiety question and the Modified Dental Anxiety Scale (MDAS) were included. The final response rate was 85%.\nEight percent of the sample was highly dentally anxious using the MDAS cut-off point of 19 or above. Twelve percent of the respondents rated themselves as "very scared" on the single-item question. The percentage agreement between the single-item question and the MDAS was 93; the Kappa coefficient was 0.63. Specificity of the single question was 0.95 while sensitivity was 0.80 using the MDAS dichotomous classification. The single-item question related to age (p<0.001), gender (p<0.001), and dental attendance (p<0.001), as predicted.\nThe single question has good validity, specificity, and sensitivity and may be used with confidence to assess dental fear in such situations as national health surveys or in routine dental practice where a multi-item dental anxiety questionnaire is not feasible.\nOBJECTIVE\nMATERIAL AND METHODS\nRESULTS\nCONCLUSIONS