IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v19y2022i4p2380-d752839.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Relationship between Dental Fear and Anxiety, General Anxiety/Fear, Sensory Over-Responsivity, and Oral Health Behaviors and Outcomes: A Conceptual Model

Author

Listed:
  • Leah I. Stein Duker

    (Mrs. T.H. Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA)

  • Mollianne Grager

    (Leaps and Bounds of Washington, Seattle, WA 98136, USA)

  • Willa Giffin

    (Mrs. T.H. Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA)

  • Natasha Hikita

    (Mrs. T.H. Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA)

  • José C. Polido

    (Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90027, USA)

Abstract

Dental fear and anxiety (DFA) is common across the lifespan and represents a barrier to proper oral health behaviors and outcomes. The aim of this study is to present a conceptual model of the relationships between DFA, general anxiety/fear, sensory over-responsivity (SOR), and/or oral health behaviors and outcomes. Two rounds of literature searches were performed using the PubMed database. Included articles examined DFA, general anxiety/fear, SOR, catastrophizing, and/or oral health behaviors and outcomes in typically developing populations across the lifespan. The relationships between the constructs were recorded and organized into a conceptual model. A total of 188 articles were included. The results provided supporting evidence for relationships between DFA and all other constructs included in the model (general anxiety/fear, SOR, poor oral health, irregular dental attendance, dental behavior management problems [DBMP], and need for treatment with pharmacological methods). Additionally, SOR was associated with general anxiety/fear and DBMP; general anxiety/fear was linked to poor oral health, irregular attendance, and DBMP. This model provides a comprehensive view of the relationships between person factors (e.g., general anxiety/fear, SOR, and DFA) and oral health behaviors and outcomes. This is valuable in order to highlight connections between constructs that may be targeted in the development of new interventions to improve oral health behaviors and outcomes as well as the experience of DFA.

Suggested Citation

  • Leah I. Stein Duker & Mollianne Grager & Willa Giffin & Natasha Hikita & José C. Polido, 2022. "The Relationship between Dental Fear and Anxiety, General Anxiety/Fear, Sensory Over-Responsivity, and Oral Health Behaviors and Outcomes: A Conceptual Model," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(4), pages 1-19, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:4:p:2380-:d:752839
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/4/2380/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/4/2380/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Eglė Slabšinskienė & Aistė Kavaliauskienė & Miglė Žemaitienė & Ingrida Vasiliauskienė & Apolinaras Zaborskis, 2021. "Dental Fear and Associated Factors among Children and Adolescents: A School-Based Study in Lithuania," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(16), pages 1-18, August.
    2. Vesa Pohjola & Kristina Kunttu & Jorma I. Virtanen, 2021. "Psychological Distress, Dental Health, and Dental Fear among Finnish University Students: A National Survey," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(19), pages 1-10, September.
    3. Maurício A. Oliveira & Cristiane B. Bendo & Meire C. Ferreira & Saul M. Paiva & Miriam P. Vale & Júnia M. Serra-Negra, 2012. "Association between Childhood Dental Experiences and Dental Fear among Dental, Psychology and Mathematics Undergraduates in Brazil," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 9(12), pages 1-12, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Al Batool Omer Alansaari & Abdelrahman Tawfik & Mohamed A. Jaber & Amar Hassan Khamis & Essra Mohamed Elameen, 2023. "Prevalence and Socio-Demographic Correlates of Dental Anxiety among a Group of Adult Patients Attending Dental Outpatient Clinics: A Study from UAE," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(12), pages 1-11, June.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Lina Stangvaltaite-Mouhat & Indre Stankeviciene & Sigrid Sofia Sanchez Martinussen & Vytautas Sabataitis & Camilla Sandjord & Ingrid Toresen & Marianne Stoltenberg Tryggestad & Alina Puriene & Jan-Are, 2023. "Web-Based Interventions Reduced Dental Anxiety among Adults in Lithuania and Norway: A Pilot Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(4), pages 1-14, February.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:4:p:2380-:d:752839. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.