RESUMO
To prepare an Arabic version of the Modified Dental Anxiety Scale [MDAS] and provide normative information including evidence to support the validity of the measure. The MDAS was translated into Arabic and back-translated into English. Data collection took place in Amman, Jordan from March 2009 to March 2010. One thousand and six hundred two 10th grade students took part in the study [15-16 years of age] sampled from 32 schools. Questionnaire consisted not only of the MDAS, but also [i] a single global question on dental anxiety to test concurrent validity, [ii] a question on helplessness in the dental surgery to test construct validity and [iii] demographic profile. The level of missing data was minimal for the translated scale. The internal consistency for this sample using the Arabic MDAS was 0.87 [95% confidence interval was 0.86-0.88]. The measure was a one-dimensional scale. The proportion of the sample that was highly dentally anxious was 22% [>/= 19 cut-off score]. Expected differences between gender and self-reported dental attendance were observed. There were clear significant relationships as predicted between the Arabic MDAS and [i] a single item measure of dental anxiety and [ii] feeling helpless in the dental chair on a previous occasion. The Arabic version of the MDAS can be employed for brief assessment of dental anxiety