A CROSS-SECTIONAL RESEARCH TO ASSESS THE ANXIETY LEVELS OCCURRENCE AMONG ORTHODONTIC PATIENTS AND ITS ASSOCIATION WITH EDUCATIONAL LEVEL, AGE AND GENDER

Objective: The objective of this research was to determine the occurrence of anxiety with respect to educational level, age and gender among orthodontic patients with the help of DAS (Dental Anxiety Scale) of Norman Corah. Patients & Methods: This cross-sectional was carried on a total of 233 patients at Services Hospital, Lahore (March 2018 to January 2019). Study utilized DAS of N. Corah to measure the various levels of anxiety. Our questionnaire collected information about patient’s education, gender and age. Results: In the total population of 350 patients a total of 233 were enrolled after distribution of research questionnaire respectively including 69 males (30%) and 164 females (70%). Mild and Severe level of anxiety was respectively reported among 46% and 4%. Highly educated patients reported reduced anxiety with significant P-Value of (0.015). Conclusion: All those patients who sought orthodontic treatment presented a prevalence of dental anxiety. Highly educated patients were reported less anxiety (P-Value < 0.01) than the less educated patients. DAS was no affected by the demographic variables of age and gender. Keywords: Orthodontic Procedures, Anxiety, Dental Anxiety Scale and Dental Phobia