Fear of injections and report of negative dentist behavior among Caucasian American and Taiwanese adults from dental school clinics

Abstract

Fear of injections and reports of negative dentist behavior and associations with dental anxiety and avoidance of treatment were explored among 951 adults from dental school clinics in Iowa City, Iowa and Taipei, Taiwan. Use and fear of anesthetic injections and negative dentist behavior were assessed by written questionnaire to test associations with demographics, overall dental anxiety (Dental Anxiety Scale or ''DAS'') and utilization behaviors. Frequency and logistic regression analyses showed that use of dental anesthetics for routine treatment was much greater overall among caucasian Americans than Taiwanese, as was fear of injections. Taiwanese and Americans with high dental anxiety (DAS 12) had similar high fear of injections, but inspite of similar fears about dental drilling, high anxiety Taiwanese reported using much less local anesthesia for routine treatments than did high anxiety Americans. Report of condescending remarks to patients (''put downs'') by dentists was mainly an American phenomenon associated with high dental anxiety. Avoidance of appointment making was high for persons afraid of injections and for Americans reporting negative dentist behavior. Avoidance was highest in subjects with high dental anxiety. That predominant characteristics or etiologies of dental anxiety can differ by cultural differences in dental health care systems, dentist beliefs and/or expectations of patients within those systems was discussed in relation to the Literature.