Dental anxiety and oral health in young Israeli male adults.

Dental anxiety may be a serious limiting factor in providing adequate dental treatment. The present study sought to define the prevalence of dental anxiety in a cross-section of young Israeli adults (389 male Israeli army recruits) to correlate anxiety scores with their oral health status and to compare the findings with existing data. The main stimuli triggering anxiety were found to be in the following descending order: seeing the needle, feeling the drill, and feeling pain despite local anaesthesia. A positive correlation was found between the degree of anxiety and the dental status; the highest percentage of untreated patients was found in the high anxiety group. It is concluded that young adult Israeli males manifest dental anxiety in a manner similar to that reported in the United States and Sweden. Dental anxiety may be an important factor in the avoidance of seeking dental care.