Gagging prevalence and its association with dental fear in 4-12-year-old children in a dental setting

Abstract

Aim: The aims were to determine the prevalence of gagging in children in the dental setting, detect any association between gagging and dental fear in that setting, and determine if the association varied by type of setting.

Design: A total of 734 children (4-12 years old), seeking dental care either at a University paediatric dental clinic (UC) or at a private paediatric practice (PP), filled out the Greek version of the Gagging Assessment Scale (GAS, subjective assessment) and the Greek version of the Children's Fear Survey Schedule-Dental Subscale (CFSS-DS). The shorter form of the Gagging Problem Assessment-dentist part for children (GPA-de-c/SF, dentist's objective measurement) was used to assess their gag reflex.

Results: A total of 209 children (28.47%) gagged according to the GPA-de-c/SF. There was no significant difference in gagging between UC and PP children. Children rated as gaggers on the GPA-de-c/SF reported significantly higher GAS and CFSS-DS scores (U = 33 629.000; P < 0.001, U = 31 955.500, P < 0.001, respectively). Also, there was a significant association between GAS and CFSS-DS (rho = 0.307, P < 0.001).

Conclusions: In the dental setting, there were significant relationships between dental fear, the dentist's objective measurement of gagging severity, and the child's subjective gagging assessment.

Keywords: children; dental anxiety; gag reflex.