THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DENTAL ANXIETY AND POSTOPERATIVE PAIN PERCEPTION AFTER SURGICAL EXTRACTION OF TOOTH: A PROSPECTIVE OBSERVATIONAL STUDY

Background: Dental anxiety is commonly present in patients undergoing dental procedures, especially those
involving the surgical extraction of third molars. This psychological factor can influence the pain perception and
postoperative recovery in patients. The current study aimed to assess the correlation between preoperative dental
anxiety and perception of postoperative pain in patients who had undergone surgical tooth extraction in our
hospital.
Methods:This prospective observation was conducted in the department of oral and maxillofacial surgery on 71
eligible patients who underwent surgical extraction of third molar teeth under local anesthesia. Data was collected
regarding demographic profile, and preoperative dental anxiety was determined using the Modified Dental
Anxiety Scale (MDAS), and the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) was used to estimate postoperative pain intensity for
seven consecutive days.
Results: Out of 71 cases, 57.7% were males and 42.3% were females. The results of dental anxiety preoperatively
on the MDAS scale showed moderate anxiety was commonly prevalent in 50% cases, and severe anxiety was
present in 13.6% of cases. Overall, female patients were found to have significantly higher dental anxiety and
postoperative pain scores as compared to males (p = 0.03 and p = 0.002), respectively. Based on the age, it was
found that the younger age group patients showed significantly higher VAS scores, although not statistically
significant.
Conclusion: The study concludes that preoperative dental anxiety is commonly found in patients undergoing
dental operative procedures. Therefore, an assessment of anxiety preoperatively will lead to better application of
psychological counseling to such patients, which can help in improved pain control, recovery, and overall
experience following surgical tooth extraction.