A Review of the Current Self-Report Measures for Assessing Children’s Dental Anxiety

Dental practitioners should be able to evaluate the anxiety in their young patients, as the quality of dental care is negatively affected by this condition. The aim of this review is to present the most used self-report scales available to assess the children’s dental fear or anxiety. We analysed the subjective and objective measures commonly used in the evaluation of children’s anxiety in clinical settings, in order to present the way in which dental anxiety is developed, knowing that these behavioural disturbances are maintained over time and could intensify during adulthood. Based on the evidence that established a correlation between dental anxiety and poor oral health, the early identification of dental anxiety and its prevalence was considered important, in order to reduce its impact and to develop better preventive measures. Furthermore, our findings could inform dentists and epidemiologists about the choice of self-report dental anxiety measures applicable in children.