Dental Treatment-Related Fear Distribution and Professionals’ Estimates for Patients in General Versus Patients’ Self-Reports: An Unpaired Cross-Sectional Study

Background/Objectives: Dental fear and anxiety can arise from dental procedures, sensory stimuli, environmental factors, and interpersonal factors. This study investigated dental treatment-related fear and differences between professionals’ estimates for patients in general and patients’ self-reports. Methods: This single-center, cross-sectional study included 219 participants: 53 dentists, 65 dental hygienists, and 101 patients. Fear intensity was assessed using a 0–100 visual analog scale. Dental professionals estimated fear in patients in general, whereas patients rated their own fear; assessments were unpaired. Ratings for 13 dental procedures were compared across the three groups. Fear ratings for six dental-related factors were also compared within patients. Results: Before Holm adjustment, 6 of the 13 procedures showed significant between-group differences; 3 remained significant after adjustment: injection in the hand, intraoral injection, and scaling. The largest effect size was observed for injection in the hand, with median fear scores of 69, 74, and 21 for dentists, dental hygienists, and patients, respectively (p < 0.001, ε2 = 0.254). Within patient ratings, fear ratings differed significantly across the six factors (p < 0.001, Kendall’s W = 0.25). Fear ratings for dental treatment and dental sounds were higher than those for the dentist, dental odors, the dental clinic, and sitting in the dental chair, with no significant difference between treatment and sounds. Conclusions: Group-level differences between professionals’ estimates and patients’ self-reports were procedure-specific and cannot establish individual-level estimation accuracy. Direct assessment of patients’ fear of specific procedures and sensory stimuli may improve understanding of dental treatment-related fear.