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KMID : 0858820060230040047
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Journal of Korean Society for Health Education and Promotion
2006 Volume.23 No. 4 p.47 ~ p.65
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Relationships between Dental Fear and Dental Services Utilization with Respect to Oral Health Promotion
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Choi Jun-Seon
Kim Kwang-Gi
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Abstract
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Objectives: This research is to provide the basic data for the improvement on oral health by examining the relationship between the dental fear and the dental service utilization, and to discuss a strategy for dental health in order to lower the level of dental fear.
Methods: Data were collected by conducting a structured survey of 1,607 people between the age of 13 and 70 who have experiences in visiting a dental institution. Both univariate and multivariate analyses were employed to analyze the relationship between the number of times dental service and dental fears.
Results: The average level of dental fear the respondents reported was and 31.5% of the response was at the level of high dental fear. A strong physiologic response during the dental treatment was muscle tension and the stimulations that strongly arouse the dental fear were the anaesthetic needle and the sound of drill. A result of analysis on the relationship between the dental fear and the dental service utilization shows that as the level of dental fear became higher, the number of times for the dental service utilization for the last year had reduced. Also when a patient has an experience of putting off or canceling an appointment due to dental fear and as a physiologic response during the dental treatment became stronger, the result shows a tendency that the number of times for the dental service utilization for the last year had reduced.
Conclusions: It has been observed that dental fear is one of the main barrier to use dental service. Therefore, a physio-psychological factor like the dental fear should be included in the task of promotion of dental health, and in analyzing the dental service utilization behavior. A discussion about how to lower dental fear was made with respect to oral health promotion. At individual level, improvement of communication skill by dental service providers should be made with rearrangement of clinic environment into more cozy one.
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KEYWORD
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Dental Fear, Dental Service Utilization, Muscle Tension, Avoidance of Dental Treatment
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