Status and influencing factors of dental anxiety among the elderly in Zhejiang province

Objective To explore the status and influencing factors of dental anxiety(DA)among the elderly in Zhejiang province.Methods Totally 1803 people aged 59-87 years were selected from 4 counties(districts)of Zhejiang province with stratified random cluster sampling and investigated by using the Coarh's Dental Anxiety Scale(DAS) from May to August 2014.The status and influencing factors of DA among the elderly were analyzed with single-factor and multi-factor analysis methods.Results For the elderly,the average DAS score was 8.38±3.27 and the prevalence rate of DA was 11.8%,with significant differences in the prevalence rate among the elderly with different education level,monthly income,personality,pain tolerance,experiences of dental care,comprehension about relatives or friends' dental care,and health condition(P<0.05).The results of logistic regression model showed that the risk factors of DA included high monthly income,knowing painful experiences of their relatives or friends' dental care,and poor health condition and the protective factor were good pain tolerance and good experiences of dental care.Conclusion The prevalence rate of DA is low among the elderly in Zhejiang province.Monthly income,pain tolerance,experiences of dental care,comprehension about relatives or friends' dental care,and health condition are impact factors of DA among the elderly.