ASSESSING THE CHANGE IN ANXIETY OF PATIENTS BEFORE AND AFTER THE ELUCIDATION OF DENTAL PROCEDURE AT A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY
Abstract
OBJECTIVES
To compare the levels of anxiety among patients prior to and subsequent to having a description of dental procedures, and also to examine differences in patient anxiety between various dental departments.
STUDY DESIGN
Cross-sectional research
PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY
The research was conducted at Foundation University College of Dentistry & Hospital in Islamabad, Pakistan for a period of 3 months from March 2023 to May 2023.
METHOD
There were two hundred and thirty-eight (238) patients who took part in the research. The patients filled in a Proforma consisting of 2 parts: the initial section demonstrated demographic and the portion followed included the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) scale one before explaining the procedure and one after it.
RESULTS
Using the Wilcoxon Test, there is high evidence to determine that the intervention (elucidation) had a significant impact in decreasing anxiety levels. Prior to procedure explanation, 65.5 % of patients had low anxiety. Moderate anxiety was exhibited by 31.9%, while 2.5% had severe level of anxiety. But upon explanation, severe anxiety decreased significantly at 0.2%. A drop to 15.1% of moderate anxiety, and most i.e., 83.2% of the participants were low-anxious. This difference is indicative of the positive effect procedure explanation has on minimizing anxiety
CONCLUSION
Our research illustrates that educating patients about dental treatments in a transparent manner helps a great deal in reducing anxiety. By dispelling patient anxieties and maintaining openness, healthcare professionals can increase the comfort of patients during dental treatment.
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