THEORETICAL ANALYSIS OF THE CONCEPT OF ‘DENTAL ANXIETY’ AND SOCIO-PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS OF ITS OCCURRENCE

Dental care ranks second globally after therapeutic care in terms of the number of visits. At the same time, this area of healthcare services is highly competitive, which makes it imperative to improve the quality of dental care in line with the requirements of aesthetics and painlessness of medical procedures, as patients prefer those dental facilities and doctors in which they feel more comfortable and with whom they receive better medical care. Among the factors that improve the quality of dental treatment, the role of the psychological component, in particular, the peculiarities of the emotional sphere of the individual, is increasingly emphasised. The article is devoted to the theoretical analysis of the concept of ‘dental anxiety’ and the construction of a theoretical model of the socio-psychological factors of its occurrence. The definitions of the concepts of ‘dental anxiety’, ‘dental fear’ and ‘dentophobia’ are considered. Their common and distinctive characteristics are analysed. An author's model of socio-psychological factors of the occurrence of dental anxiety was developed, which includes three groups/ Firstly, intrapersonal factors (relating directly to the individual), which include individual and personal characteristics, lifestyle factors, socio-demographic and professional factors. Secondly, interpersonal factors (relating to the individual in the context of his or her interaction with the environment), which include factors related to previous experience of receiving dental services, the patient or his or her immediate environment, the presence or absence of support from family or friends, and the need to undergo a painful, lengthy and expensive treatment process. Thirdly, extra-personal factors (related to the society in which the individual functions), which include factors related to the dentist, factors related to the clinic where dental services are provided, factors related to the war in the country.