A clinical study of child dental anxiety

Dental fear in children was studied using Rachmanʹs theory of fear acquisition. Sixty children from two age groups (7–10 years, 11–14 years) participated in the project. The children were new patients attending a paediatric consultation clinic for specialised dental treatment. Thirty-one were diagnosed as being clinically anxious regarding dentistry and 29 were found to be nonanxious. Information regarding childrenʹs past experiences and present level of anxiety was obtained from the examining dentist, the children and their parents. Mothers were also interviewed and observed to ascertain their own anxieties and behaviour. The results showed that of Rachmanʹs three pathways to fear, conditioning appeared largely responsible for the childrenʹs development of dental fear. Childrenʹs fear was more strongly associated with subjective experience of pain and trauma than with objective dental pathology. Indirect learning processes were found to be of only minor importance in this study.