Assessment of dental fear in children with molar-incisor hypomineralization

Abstract

© 2022 Polish Dental AssociationIntroduction: Dental fear is a common unpleasant emotional response that occurs in situations related to dental treatment. Since children affected by molar-incisor hypomineralization (MIH) receive much more dental treatment than their healthy peers, these children may have more dental fear and behavioral problems. Objectives: The aim of the study was to assess the relation between the presence and severity of MIH and dental fear. Material and methods: Study group involved a sample of 127 children, aged between 8 and 12 years with MIH, showing a high-risk of caries, and 99 children were included into control group. In the wake of intra-oral examination according to the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry guideline and DMFT/dmft indices, Children’s Fear Survey Schedule – Dental Subscale (CFSS-DS) was applied to each child. Mean value of independent groups for normally distributed data was compared using independent samples t-test. Spearman’s correlation was applied for correlations between DMFT/dmft scores and CFSS-DS scores. P-value of < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The final number of individuals affected by MIH in this study was 127 with approximately equal numbers for each age group. The mean CFSS-DS scores were 31.41 ± 10.73 for the MIH-group, and 31.60 ± 6.21 for the controls, respectively. The mean values did not differ significantly between children with and without MIH (p = 0.870). There were also no statistically significant differences in severe MIH (31.38 ± 10.93) compared with the control group (31.60 ± 6.21) (p = 0.890). Conclusions: The study’s findings revealed that there is no relation between the existence and severity of MIH and dental fear.