Aetiology of dental anxiety in children: a review of the literature

Abstract

Dental anxiety has long been identified as a factor that affects the effective provision and acceptance of dental treatments by patients. For children, this becomes a handicap especially when they have not developed an ability to cope with the problem. This paper reviews factors that have been identified as aetiological factors for dental anxiety in children. Also a note has been made on a possible concomitant factor to other identified aetiological factors in Nigerian children though there is the need for more studies in the country on this subject. An understanding of the various aetiological factors in dental anxiety would help in the child-patient management with there being the possibility of a multidisciplinary approach to this multidimensional problem.