ArticleBMC oral health2026
Dental fear and anxiety and its sociodemographic associations among public and private schoolchildren aged 8 to 12 years in Depok, Indonesia: a cross-sectional study.
Article in BMC oral health, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundDental fear and anxiety (DFA) affect dental visits and oral health outcomes in children. Sociodemographic factors linked to DFA are understudied in Indonesia.
objectivesThis study examined the prevalence, triggers, and sociodemographic factors associated with DFA among schoolchildren aged 8-12 years in Depok City, Indonesia. The goal is to inform targeted interventions in school-based settings.
methodsA total of 460 schoolchildren aged 8-12 years were recruited from five elementary schools in Depok City by using randomised multistage cluster sampling. The participant's parents also participated in the study. The questionnaires were adapted from the Indonesian Modified Dental Anxiety Scale with Facial Image Scale pictorial response aids (MDAS + FIS), Riskesdas, and Susenas and were administered by trained enumerators. The DFA scores were analysed as continuous and categorical data: no DFA (score 5), mild (6-11), and high (> 11). The covariates included age, sex, birth order, school grade, and school type. The statistical methods employed included descriptive statistics, linear regression, ordered logit regression, and generalised ordered logit regression. Sensitivity analyses for alternatives outcomes were conducted.
resultsThe mean DFA score was 11.1 (SD: 3.46), median 11 (IQR 9-13). In total, 53.2% of children had mild DFA, and 43.6% had high DFA. Injections (mean 3.13) and tooth drilling (mean 2.79) were the most common triggers. Older age (11-12 vs. 8-10 years), attending private schools, and higher birth order were consistently associated with lower DFA. Sex had weaker associations. Multivariate analysis confirmed these associations, with private schools and older age being the strongest predictors of reduced DFA. Sensitivity analyses affirmed robustness.
conclusionsThere is a high prevalence of mild to high DFA. Early DFA strategies are needed to improve dental attendance and cooperation among Depok City schoolchildren. Lower DFA is associated with older age, later birth order, higher grades, and private schools. The major triggers were dental injections and drilling. These findings provide locally relevant evidence to tailor long-term oral health strategies.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.