Scholarly Article
Dental Anxiety Impact on Oral Health Related Quality of Life: A Cross-Sectional Study in Benghazi, Libya
Abdelnabi, Abdelmonem, Rafeeq Al Kuwafi, Sara Bushwigeer, Fatma Ahdash
2025-10-01 · AlQalam Journal of Medical and Applied Sciences · University of Tripoli Alahlia
Abstract
Dental anxiety (DA) is a common condition associated with subsequent health-related and psychosocial outcomes. The sense of well-being and satisfaction with daily performances influenced by dental and oral conditions is known as oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL). This study aimed to evaluate the impact of dental anxiety on quality of life in Benghazi city. The basic research design included a cross-sectional study involving a randomly selected sample of the Benghazi population (N=717, age = 16 - 72 years old). The data was collected by means of a questionnaire on Google Forms online and printed handouts. Statistical analyses were made with descriptive statistics, inference t- test and chi-square using IBM SPSS Statistics version 22.0. Among the study group, 64.2% were females and 35.8% were males. Based on the MDAS score, 15.8% of the participants were identified to be highly anxious and suffering from dental phobia. Generally, more female participants 72% had dental phobia than males. There were significant differences between the phobic group's and non-phobic group's Oral Health Impact Profile-5 (OHIP), with phobic participants having generally higher scores. Dental anxiety is associated with the impact oral health has on life quality; participants experiencing high levels of dental anxiety were mostly females and had poorer oral health-related quality of life than those who didn't.
Keywords
Dental anxiety, Oral health related quality of life, Oral health impact profile
Citation Details
AlQalam Journal of Medical and Applied Sciences, Vol. 8, No. 4, pp. 2113-2117