A cross sectional study of gender differences in dental anxiety prevailing in the students of a Pakistani dental college

AbstractObjectiveThe purpose of this cross sectional study was to assess the level of dental anxiety prevailing in the dental students and to compare the anxiety levels reported by female and male dental students of Sardar Begum Dental College, Peshawar, Pakistan.MethodsCorah’s dental anxiety scale (DAS) questionnaires (in English language) were distributed among the entire dental students present at the day of study (194 students, females: 120, males: 74). DAS had four questions assessing the level of anxiousness with a maximum possible achievable score of 20. Five options were available for each question. Scoring was performed as A=1, B=2, C=3, D=4 and E=5. A score between 4 and 8 showed no anxiety, 9 and 12: moderate anxiety, 13 and 14: high anxiety and between 15 and 20 showed severe anxiety (phobia). Data were analyzed statistically.ResultsOverall response rate was 86% (n=167, females: 108, males: 59). Female dental students presented with higher DAS than male students and the difference was also statistically significant (P