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Abstract
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BACKGROUND: The etiology of dental fear (DF) is multifactorial and involves other contributing factors than dental traumatic experiences.
AIM: To study, among adolescents, the associations between DF and exposure to child physical abuse, interpersonal violence (IPV) and bullying. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We extracted data from a population-based survey of 4,977 adolescents who were 15-17-years-old in 2017. The questionnaire queried socioeconomic background factors, DF, self-perceived oral health, general health, and exposure to child abuse. To estimate associations between DF and exposure to child abuse, we used multivariate logistic regression analysis.
RESULTS: Overall, 8.2% reported DF, girls (10.5%) significantly more than boys (5%), adolescents not identifying themselves as girl or boy reported the highest prevalence of DF (25.5%) (P<0.001).15.3% had been exposed to child physical abuse; 11.1%, to IPV; 11.2%, to bullying. Experiences of IPV and bullying, but not physical abuse, were statistically significantly associated with DF. The odds of developing DF for adolescents exposed to any type of violence was 1.9 times the odds for adolescents with no exposure to child abuse.
CONCLUSION: Exposure to violence is associated with dental fear in adolescents.
Language: en |