Translation and validation of modified dental anxiety scale based on adult Taiwan population

• Published in: BMC oral health Vol. 21; no. 1; p. 647
• Main Authors: Lin, Chia-Shu, Lee, Chen-Yi, Wu, Shih-Yun, Chen, Li-Ling, Lee, Kun-Tsung, Wang, Min-Ching, Wang, Tze-Fang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 17.12.2021; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Adult; Anxiety; Avoidance; Care and treatment; Community; Dental anxiety; Dental Anxiety - diagnosis; Dental care; Dentists; Diagnosis; Factor analysis; Fear; Fear & phobias; Female; Humans; Male; Pain; Psychological aspects; Psychometrics; Quantitative psychology; Questionnaires; Reproducibility of Results; Right to refuse treatment; Risk factors; Statistical analysis; Surveys and Questionnaires; Taiwan; Utilization; Validity; Taiwan; United States > US; Fear; Dental anxiety; Pain; Avoidance
• ISSN: 1472-6831; 1472-6831
• DOI: 10.1186/s12903-021-02017-w

Dental anxiety is associated with negative experiences of dental treatment and dental-visiting behavior. The Modified Dental Anxiety Scale (MDAS) is widely used for assessing dental anxiety. The study aims to establish the psychometric properties of a Chinese version of the MDAS based on the Taiwan sample (i.e., T-MDAS). The T-MDAS and dental-visiting behavior and experience were assessed for 402 adult subjects recruited from community and clinical sites. The following psychometric properties were assessed: (a) internal consistency, (b) temporal stability, (c) criterion-related validity (i.e., the association with the score of Index of Dental Anxiety and Fear, IDAF-4C), (d) discrimination validity (i.e., the difference in scores between the subjects with and without a habit of a regular dental visit, and (e) the construct validity from a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The T-MDAS showed good internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.88) and temporal stability (ρ = 0.69, p < 0.001). The score was significantly correlated with the score of the IDAF-4C (ρ = 0.76, p < 0.001) and differed between subjects who regularly visited a dentist or not, supporting good criterion-related validity and discrimination validity. Results from CFA supports good construct validity. Furthermore, higher dental anxiety was related to the lack of a regular dental visit, feeling pain during treatment, and feeling insufficient skills and empathy of dentists. A higher proportion of high-dental anxiety subjects in female subjects (8.5%), compared to male subjects (5.0%), was noted. The T-MDAS is a valid tool for assessing adult dental anxiety. The score is highly associated with dental-visiting behavior and experience of dental patients.