The moderating role of dental expectancies on the relationship between cognitive vulnerability and dental fear in children and adolescents

Objective Recently, cognitive approaches have been successfully applied to the understanding of child dental anxiety. Our study aimed to analyze the interplay between cognitive variables and their associations with dental fear. In particular, we proposed that the observed relationship between dental treatment‐related cognitive vulnerability (i.e., uncontrollability, unpredictability, dangerousness, and disgustingness appraisals) and dental fear is moderated by the expectancies of the probability and aversiveness of negative events during dental treatments. Methods A questionnaire survey was conducted with data obtained from 179 participants (8–18 years, 55.9% female) who attended 12 randomly selected educational establishments in Madrid (Spain). Results Dental fear was associated with an irregular pattern of dental visits. As expected, cognitive vulnerability was strongly linked to dental anxiety. For those children who expected a lower likelihood of negative dental events or appraised them in a less aversive way, the relationship between cognitive vulnerability and fear was attenuated. Conclusions As dental fear and oral health are connected, the prevention and reduction of dental fear among children and adolescents might be a worthwhile target for public health interventions. Our study sheds some light on how this could be achieved, that is, by modifying the children's vulnerability appraisals as well as their fearful dental expectancies.