Negative events and their potential risk of precipitating pathological forms of dental anxiety.

The purpose of the present study was to assess which types of experiences are most closely associated with pathological forms of dental anxiety. Data came from a sample of dental patients (n=1462). Pathological dental anxiety was operationalized in two ways: (1) a score of > or =36 on the Short form of the Dental Anxiety Inventory (S-DAI; high dental anxiety, HDA), or (2) fulfilling the screening criteria of specific phobia (DSM-IV-TR; dental phobia, DP). A wide variety of dental experiences appeared to be significantly related with both HDA and DP, while general traumatic experiences were not. No differences were found between women and men. Retrospective accounts of dental experiences involving helplessness were most strongly associated with having HDA [OR=8.2] and positive screens of DP [OR=16.2]. The results suggest that disruptive emotional and interoceptive reactions during dental treatment (particularly helplessness) have the greatest potential risk of precipitating pathological forms of dental anxiety.

Preoccupation with one's appearance: a motivating factor for cosmetic dental treatment?

BACKGROUND: It has been estimated that among patients presenting for cosmetic treatments up to 15% suffer from Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD), a psychiatric condition characterised by a preoccupation with an imagined defect in appearance. OBJECTIVES: The main purpose of the current study was to establish the relationship between presence of BDD characteristics and interest in aesthetically motivated dental treatments. METHODS: Data were obtained by means of a survey within a sample of 879 Dutch citizens of 16 years and older. Characteristics of BDD were assessed based on DSM-IV criteria. RESULTS: Only one of the BDD features (ie a preoccupation with a defect of appearance) emerged as a significant predictor of undergoing cosmetic dental treatments. Patients with such preoccupation were nine times more likely to consider tooth whitening, and six times more likely to consider orthodontic treatment. They were also five times more likely to be dissatisfied about their most recent treatment. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that preoccupation with one's physical appearance is a motivating factor for undergoing certain types of cosmetic dental procedures.

[Post-academic dental specialties 13. What are anxious dental patients most afraid of?]. / Beroepsdifferentiatie in de tandheelkunde 13. Waar zijn angstige patienten het meest bang voor?

What are the dental stimuli and situations that are experienced as more or less fear provoking by anxious dental patients?To investigate this question, 81 highly anxious patients, who were referred to a centre of special dental care were presented with a list of 76 potentially fear provoking objects and situations. The results showed that invasive dental procedures are considered as most terrifying by anxious patients, and that stimuli related to the dental office (dental chair), the dental team (dentist) and their equipment (protecting clothes) are considered as least fear provoking. Root canal treatments were rated as most fear provoking. The results emphasize the importance of assessing the whole range of potentially terrifying stimuli for each anxious patient. Only in this way an approach focused on the extinction of patients' dental fear can be successful.

[Popularity of aesthetic dental treatments. Results of a national study in the Netherlands]. / De populariteit van esthetische behandelingen. resultaten van een landelijk onderzoek.

There are indications of a growing public interest in aesthetic dental treatments. For want of reliable data, a group of 907 randomly selected Dutch individuals was questioned in order to give this apparent tendency a foundation in figures. The results of this study show that about 25% of the respondents received aesthetic dental treatment at some time, about 8% was treated during the past year, and almost 8% intended to undergo aesthetic dental treatment in the coming year. In this respect, tooth whitening was found to be the most popular treatment. The results of this study suggest that there is a positive attitude towards aesthetic dentistry and that women take a greater interest in it than men. Whether this interest will lead to a rise in the number of actual aesthetic dental treatments is still unclear.