Evaluation of the Relationship Between Dental History and Oral Care Habits with Dental Fear Among Dentistry Students

Aim: The aim was to compare the levels of dental fear among dentistry students both between classes and between preclinical and clinical periods and to investigate the relationship between dental fear and gender, dental history, and hygiene. Materials and Method: 369 dentistry students participated in the study. The Kleinknecht Dental Fear Survey Scale (DFS) was used to measure dental fear levels. Demographic data such as class year, gender, smoking status, and dental history were collected in the first part of the survey. In the second part, students were asked about their dental hygiene habits and in the last part, dental fear scale questions were asked. Normality was assessed with the Shapiro–Wilk test. Mann–Whitney U, Kruskal–Wallis, and Linear by Linear Association tests were used for statistical analyses. Results: The dental fear score of women (17.0±18.1) was higher than that of men (12.3±14.1). While the DFS score in the preclinical groups was 17.4±18.7, the DFS score in the clinical group was 10.2±10.0. While the dental fear score of those who visited the dentist less frequently was higher (45.6±22.9), it was observed that the DFS score of the individuals decreased significantly as the frequency of tooth brushing increased (p