Dental environment and practitioner preferences of southeast Asian youths with dental fear/anxiety

Objectives This study estimated the prevalence of dental fear/anxiety (DFA) in Southeast Asian youths and established their dental environment and practitioner preferences. Methods A convenience sample of youths were enrolled from a local polytechnic. The Index of Dental Anxiety and Fear (IDAF‐4C) was used to ascertain the presence and severity of DFA. Socio‐demographic and IDAF‐4C data, along with participants' dental environment and practitioner partialities were gathered electronically. Statistical evaluations were performed with Kruskal‐Wallis and Chi‐square tests (α = 0.05). Results Data from a total of 215 participants were appraised. The mean age of the study sample was 18.9 ± 2.0 years (87.4% women). Of these, 12.6% had moderate‐to‐high DFA and 6.0% had high‐to‐extreme DFA. As a group, Southeast Asian youths generally liked dental clinics with adorned walls, cooler temperatures, magazines/books, background music and audio‐visual devices. In addition, they favoured female practitioners who are younger (≤45 years old), friendly, talkative and maintain a professional relationship. However, those with high‐to‐extreme DFA preferred a warmer clinic environment and to have an informal relationship with their dental practitioners (p = 0.01). Conclusions The prevalence of moderate‐to‐extreme DFA in Southeast Asian youths was 18.6%. Individuals with high‐to‐extreme DFA may have disparate dental environment and practitioner preferences compared to those with no‐to‐moderate DFA.