Comparison of dental anxiety among students of different academic backgrounds

The aim of this study is to investigate the subjective ratings of dental anxiety levels among university students of different fields. A prevalidated questionnaire was distributed among the undergraduates in the dental, medical, and engineering fields. A total of 150 students participated in the study. According to the result, it can be stated that anxiety was more common in engineering undergraduates. The majority of participants were more anxious before the procedure even started. The reason for fear among all the procedures, fear of pain was the main cause for 58% (87) participants, while fear of injection remains a cause for 18.7% (28) participants. On the contrary, minimum respondents had a fear about the sound of the drill. The result of current research indicates that dental anxiety is quite prevalent among undergraduates. Fear of pain is the main reason behind anxiety. Extraction of a tooth and root canal is a major reason for provoking anxiety among all the procedures. Therefore, all efforts should be undertaken to allay the fear by appropriate techniques of patient counseling to make sure that the patient understands the necessity of the procedure and cooperates.