Assessing the Anxious Patient

From Volume 29, Issue 9, November 2002 | Pages 448-454

Authors

Barbara L. Chadwick

BDS, MScD, PhD, FDS RCS (Edin.)

Senior Lecturer and Honorary Consultant in Paediatric Dentistry, University of Wales College of Medicine

Articles by Barbara L. Chadwick

Abstract

Dental anxiety is a problem for many adults and children and for many patients anxiety acts as a barrier to treatment: avoidance of treatment, irregular attendance or attendance for emergency treatment only being typical ways of dealing with the problem. For the dental team a patient's anxiety poses major management problems, as an anxious patient may require more time for treatment, is very likely to miss appointments and may have raised pain thresholds. A major cause of stress for clinicians is the management of anxiety in their patients.

Article

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