Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2025 Aug;75(4):100826.
doi: 10.1016/j.identj.2025.04.006. Epub 2025 May 17.

Exploring the Levels of Dental Anxiety in Greek Patients

Metaxia Kritsidima  1 , Sasha Scambler  2 , Koula Asimakopoulou  3
Affiliations

Exploring the Levels of Dental Anxiety in Greek Patients

Metaxia Kritsidima et al. Int Dent J. 2025 Aug.

Abstract

Introduction: Dental anxiety is the apprehension experienced by an individual when confronted with matters related to dentistry, it impacts individuals' dental experiences and the dental healthcare providers' professional lives, contributing to increased tension and potentially compromising performance. Levels of dental anxiety differ across cultures.

Objective: To collect normative data on levels of dental anxiety in Greece from a representative sample of people attending their usual dentist for a routine dental appointment.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was applied. 1313 Adults were recruited, as they attended 1 of 6 different dental settings and were scheduled for a routine dental appointment involving any of the following routine procedures: Check-up, hygiene, restoration, extraction, and pain relief. Their anxiety levels were assessed by applying the Modified Dental Anxiety Scale (MDAS), and by using the cut-off scores of 12 and 19 for assessing moderate and extreme anxiety, respectively.

Results: 32.6% per cent of the respondents were found to be dentally anxious, out of which 8.2 % experienced high levels of dental anxiety. The mean MDAS score for the total study population was 10.36 (SD= 4.639). The findings indicated that females and first-time dental patients reported significantly higher levels of dental anxiety than males and repeat attendees. However, dental anxiety levels did not vary significantly across different dental procedures, age groups and dental settings. These results are in line with those reported by White in the U.S. population, demonstrating comparable levels of dental anxiety across both populations.

Clinical significance: One in 3 patients visiting the dentist in Greece experience some level of dental anxiety. This finding underscores that dental anxiety is a prevalent public health concern in Greece. Dentists and healthcare providers should consider screening for dental anxiety that could lead to early identification and management.

Keywords: Dental anxiety; Dental phobia; Greece; MDAS; Modified Dental Anxiety Scale.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Metaxia Kritsidima reports statistical analysis and writing assistance were provided by King’s College London. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig. 1
Flowchart of recruitment procedure to dental settings.
Fig 2
Fig. 2
Total MDAS.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Freeman R., Humphris G. Quintessence Publishing Co. Ltd; 2006. Communicating in Dental Practice: Stress Free Dentistry and Improved Patient Care.http://library.dundee.ac.uk/F/?func=direct&local_base=DUN01&doc_number=0...
    1. Silveira E.R., Cademartori M.G., Schuch H.S., Armfield J.A., Demarco F.F. Estimated prevalence of dental fear in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Dent. 2021;108 doi: 10.1016/j.jdent.2021.103632. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Appukuttan D.P. Strategies to manage patients with dental anxiety and dental phobia: literature review. C Alves ical, cosmetic and investigational dentistry. 2016;8:35–50. doi: 10.2147/CCIDE.S63626. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Lin C.S., Wu S.Y., Yi C.A. Association between Anxiety and Pain in Dental Treatment: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. J Dent Res. 2017;96(2):153–162. doi: 10.1177/0022034516678168. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Atram Abdulrahman A.Al, Singh Smita, Bhardwaj Atul, Fadalah Mousa Khalid Abu. Evaluation of fear and anxiety associated with instruments and treatment among dental patients. International Journal of Contemporary Medical Research. 2016;3:2494–2496. doi: 10.13140/RG.2.2.16847.12962. - DOI

LinkOut - more resources