ArticleCureus2025
Effect of Dental Fear on Delay in Seeking Dental Treatment Among Adults in a South Asian Setting.
Article in Cureus, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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9 authors.
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Abstract
backgroundDental fear is a common reason why adults avoid the dentist, which can result in overlooked dental care and worsening oral health concerns. While new dental technology is available, a lot of people postpone treatments because they fear the thought of visiting the dentist. The purpose of this study is to examine why adults in Islamabad are slow to get dental treatment, looking at the effects of dental fear and factors such as age, gender, income, and dental insurance. Methods: A cross-sectional study was done using data from 385 adults chosen from dental and community clinics. The tool selected for assessing dental anxiety was the Modified Dental Anxiety Scale (MDAS), and the Dental Neglect Scale (DNS) was used for deciding on treatment delays. Analysis of the data was done with descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, t-tests, ANOVA, Pearson correlation, and linear regression. Data collection took place from March to May 2025.
resultsA statistically significant yet limited relationship between dental anxiety and dental neglect was obtained (r = 0.129, p = 0.011; R 2 = 1.7%, approximately). Dental neglect showed a significant gender difference, with male participants giving significantly higher scores on neglect, but no significant difference was seen on the aspect of dental anxiety. Those who lack dental insurance are considerably more neglectful of their dental health. Regression analysis established that dental anxiety was a significant yet small predictor of dental neglect (B = 0.133, p = 0.011). Neglect and anxiety were also related to income and age, but with small to moderate effect sizes.
conclusionThe findings indicate a weak relationship between dental anxiety and neglect, which implies that dental fear can be a potential factor that causes dental care delays among adults in Islamabad. Sociodemographic variables, including gender, income, and insurance status, also determined dental behavior. Future studies on such a population would require longitudinal assessment of causality, considering the small effect sizes due to the limitation of a cross-sectional design. However, specific measures can be provided, including patient education, anxiety adaptation measures, and increased access to preventive services to minimize the risk of dental care delay among vulnerable groups.
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