Abstract | U ovom radu ispitivali smo povezanost anksioznosti i dentalne anksioznosti, te utjecaja tih dvaju stanja na dentalne navike i informiranost pacijenata o dentalnim zahvatima. Kako se ordinaciju dentalne medicine često povezuje s negativnim stanjima (anksioznošću i dentalnom anksioznošću) isptanika koja u konačnici rezultiraju slabim i kasnim odazivima na štetu pacijenta i njihovog orofacijalnog stanja, pokušali smo ispitati je li to doista tako ili se pomalo mijenja odnos prema dentalnim zahvatima i uvjerenjima da većina pacijenata doživljava nelagodu kada moraju otići doktoru dentalne medicine. Ispitivali smo još i poveznicu između toga koliko su pacijenti spremni sami istraživati neke dentalne teme i njihovog stupnja anksioznosti, dentalne anksioznosti, te je li česta upotreba interneta u svakodnevnome životu doprinijela češćem pretraživanju internetskih portala za informacijama o dentalnim zahvatima.
Rezultati: u istraživanju je sudjelovalo 150 ispitanika, prosječne dobi 45,8 (15,35) godina. Od ukupnog broja ispitanika njih 90 (60%) je žena i 60 (40%) muškaraca. Prilikom izrade ovoga rada korišten je sociodemografski upitnik, STAI- X-1 upitnik, DAS upitnik i upitnik o dentalnim navikama.
Ispitanici se nisu statistički značajno razlikovali u stupnju anksioznosti mjerene STAI i DAS upitnikom. Prosječan ukupan rezultat zbroja bodova na STAI upitniku iznosio je 44,3 (9,18) na ljestvici od 20 do 80, a prosječan odgovor na upitniku bio je 2,2, odnosno „malo” dok su na DAS ljestvici ispitanici u prosjeku postizali rezultat od 8,5 (3,5) koji odgovara donjoj granici blage dentalne anksioznosti. Vidljivo je da najveći udio ispitanika nema dentalnu anksioznost (44,7%) a slijedi po učestalosti blaga anksioznost (38%).
Polovica ispitanika (52.0%) je došla na redovni kontrolni pregled, zbog estetskih razloga došlo je (18,7%) ispitanika, a zbog zubobolje/bolova njih (13,3%).
Prilikom ispitivanja informiranosti u vezi s dentalnim zahvatima ustanovljeno je da se je velika većina ispitanika o: čišćenju kamenca (81,3%), popravku zuba (92,7%), liječenju i/ili vađenju živca (89,3%), vađenju zuba (89,3%) se informirala kod svog doktora dentalne medicine. Petina ispitanika nije se uopće informirala, dok preostala petina navodi internet (njih 6, odnosno 4%). Zanimljivo je izdvojiti da ispitanici koji su se informirali kod doktora dentalne medicine o vađenju zuba postižu u prosjeku veći skor na DAS ljestvici u odnosu na ispitanike koji se ne informiraju. Iako je razlika u prosječnim vrijednostima mala ne bi trebala biti zbog toga zanemarena.
Zaključak: Provedeno istraživanje nije pokazalo povezanost između anksioznosti i dentalne anksioznosti te utjecaja anksioznosti na dentalne navike pacijenata i njihovu informiranost o dentalnim zahvatima. Tako je ispitano da se ta dva stanja, anksioznost i dentalna anksioznost, ne mogu dovesti u vezu na način da utječu jedna na drugu. Među razlozima dolaska u ordinaciju dentalne medicine vidljivo je da je redovni pregled na prvom mjestu, slijede estetski razlozi, a tek na trećem mjestu je zubobolja ili bol i ustanovljeno je da velika većina ispitanika o: čišćenju kamenca, popravku zuba, liječenju i/ili vađenju živca i vađenju zuba informira kod svog doktora dentalne medicine, tako da internet i ostali izvori ne dolaze do značaja u dobivanju informacija o dentalnim uslugama. |
Abstract (english) | This paper assesed the correlation between anxiety and dental anxiety, as well as the influence of those two conditions on patients' dental habits and their level of informedness about dental procedures. Seeing that a dental office is often associated with negative conditions (anxitey and dental anxiety) of the patients, which ultimately results in poor or belated return visits at the expense of patients' orofacial health, we tried to examine if this is really so, or is the attitude towards dental procedures and the conviction that most patients experience discomfort when vsiting a dental medicine doctor's office slowly changing. We have also examined the connection between the willingness of patients to research some dental topics and their anxiety level, dental anxiety level and the fact that the use of the internet in everyday life contributed to browsing it more frequently in search of the information about dental procedures.
Results: the research included 150 participants, average age 45,8 (15,35). 90 participants (60%) are female and 60 participants (40%) are male. In conducting this research the following questionnaires were used: sociodemographic, STAI-X-1, DAS and a questionnaire concerning dental habits.
Statistically, the participants were not significantly diverse concerning their anxiety level as measured by STAI and DAS questionnaires. Average overall sum in STAI questionnaire is 44,3 (9,18), on scale of 20 to 80, while the average response was 2,2 (somewhat). On the DAS scale the participants averaged 8,5 (3,5), a result which corresponds a lower level of mild dental anxiety. It is evident that the majority of the participants do not have dental anxiety (44,7%), followed by having mild anxiety (38%).
Half of the participants (52,0%) were there for a regular dental check-up, (18,7%) were present due to aesthetic reasons and (13,3%) due to a toothache.
When assessing the level of informedness about their dental procedure, it was established that majority of the participants were informed by their doctor of dental medicine as follows: about dental plaque removal (81,3%), about tooth repair (92,7%), about tooth nerve treatment and/or removal (89,3%) and about tooth extraction (89,3%). One fifth of the participants were not informed at all, while the remaining fifth (4%) cite the internet as their source of informedness. It is interesting to highlight the fact that the participants who were informed by their doctor of dental medicine about tooth extraction averagely scored higher on the DAS scale than those who were not informed. Although the difference in average values is small, it should not be ignored.
Conclusion: the research conducted did not display any link between anxiety and dental anxiety or the influence of the anxiety on the patients' dental habits or their informedness about dental procedures. It has been assessed that those two conditions, anxiety and dental anxiety, can not be correlated in the sense that they affect one another. Among the reasons of visiting the dental office it is evident that regular check-ups take precedence, followed by aesthetic reasons and toothache or pain.
It has been established that the majority of the participants obtain information on the dental procedures (plaque removal, tooth repair, tooth and nerve extraction) by their doctor of dental medicine. The internet and other sources of information are not widely used when obtaining information on dental procedures. |