Dental anxiety among children attending university-affiliated special needs and child dental clinics in Trinidad and Tobago: a cross-sectional study

The study investigated whether dental fear and anxiety (DFA) differed among children with and without disabilities in Trinidad and Tobago. For this cross-sectional study, the parents/caregivers of all 6–18-year-old children (n = 201) attending the Special Needs Dental Clinic and Child Dental Health Clinic were recruited. The Modified Dental Anxiety Scale (MDAS) was utilised on the accompanying adult. Multinomial regression models were used for analyses of MDAS sum score for three groups: low (5–9), moderate (10–18), and high anxiety (19–25). Disability was categorized as yes (any disability)/no. The covariables included Gender, Age of child, Ethnicity, accompanying adult (parent/caregiver), Reason for visit, Last visit, and Oral health rating of the child. The parents/caregivers of children with disabilities (n = 101) and without (n = 100) responded. The mean age of the children with disabilities was 10.6 (3.4 SD) and 11.3 (2.8 SD) for the children without disabilities. Children with a disability were significantly more likely (OR: 3.7; CI: 1.9–7.5) to experience moderate level DFA than those without a disability. Also, children in the 6–12-year-old age group were more likely (OR: 5.6; CI: 1.1–27.1) to experience a high level of DFA than the 13–18-year-old children. Children with disabilities had a higher proportion of moderate levels of anxiety than those without. Consistent dental attendance at clinics using dental fear and anxiety (DFA) techniques is suggested to reduce the development and persistence of DFA in this population.