UK Population Norms for the Modified Dental Anxiety Scale with Percentile Calculator: Adult Dental Health Survey 2009 Results

Overview

Journal BMC Oral Health

Publisher Biomed Central

Specialty Dentistry

Date 2013 Jun 27

PMID 23799962

Citations 55

Authors

Gerry Humphris

John R Crawford

Kirsty Hill

Angela Gilbert

Ruth Freeman

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background: A recent UK population survey of oral health included questions to assess dental anxiety to provide mean and prevalence estimates of this important psychological construct.

Methods: A two-stage cluster sample was used for the survey across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. The survey took place between October-December 2009, and January-April 2010. All interviewers were trained on survey procedures. Within the 7,233 households sampled there were 13,509 adults who were asked to participate in the survey and 11,382 participated (84%).

Results: The scale was reliable and showed some evidence of unidimensionality. Estimated proportion of participants with high dental anxiety (cut-off score = 19) was 11.6%. Percentiles and confidence intervals were presented and can be estimated for individual patients across various age ranges and gender using an on-line tool.

Conclusions: The largest reported data set on the MDAS from a representative UK sample was presented. The scale's psychometrics is supportive for the routine assessment of patient dental anxiety to compare against a number of major demographic groups categorised by age and sex. Practitioners within the UK have a resource to estimate the rarity of a particular patient's level of dental anxiety, with confidence intervals, when using the on-line percentile calculator.

Citing Articles

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Association Between the Two-Year Trajectories of Dental Anxiety and the Changes in the Oral Health-Related Quality of Life in Parents of FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study.

Yang L, Suominen A, Palo K, Kataja E, Pohjola V, Ogawa M Dent J (Basel). 2024; 12(12).

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Cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the Swedish version of the Modified Dental Anxiety Scale.

Hoglund M, Goranson E, Wardh I, Larsson P Acta Odontol Scand. 2024; 83():666-671.

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Saglanmak A, Arisan V J Clin Med. 2024; 13(22).

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Exploring the Variations in the Use of Modified Dental Anxiety Scale (MDAS) in Literature: A Survey of Studies Published from 2014 to 2023.

Yeung A Clin Exp Dent Res. 2024; 10(6):e70040.

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