Abstrato

The relationship between children and caregivers dental anxiety in Brazilian children.

Raisa Lima Silva, Diego Gibson Praxedes Martins, Maria Vieira de Lima Saintrain, Karine Magalhaes Fernandes Vieira, Anya Pimentel Gomes Fernandes Vieira-Meyer

Background: Despite advances in Dentistry, anxiety and fear are common among children and adults, constituting a barrier to dental care. Aim: To assess children’s and caregivers’ fear and anxiety towards dental treatment, identifying the relationship between caregivers’ dental history and their perception of their children’s fear/anxiety. Methods: Cross-sectional, descriptive and analytical study in a university dental clinic. Socio-demographic questionnaire, the Children’s Fears Survey Schedule-Dental Sub-scale and Venham Picture Test were used for data collection. Results: 115 pairs of children/caregivers participated. 14 caregivers (12.2%) and 10 children (8.7%) presented fear/anxiety. Children (age 7.9 ± 1.7 years) fear/anxiety related to doctors and dentists were similar. There was no relationship between gender, age, previous dental experience or socio-economic status and children’s dental fear/anxiety. Correlation (r=0.409; p<0.001) was found between caregivers’ perception of their children’s fear/anxiety and the dental fear/anxiety self-reported by children. This relationship was not strong, and other factors should be considered. Caregivers do not project their dental fear/anxiety onto their children but they are able to predict their dental fear/anxiety. Conclusion: Caregivers’ fears do not interfere with their perception of their children’s fear/ anxiety, and they do not project their fears onto their children. However, they can predict their child fear and anxiety towards dental treatment.