USE OF DENTAL ANXIETY SCALES AND THEIR EFFICACY FOR PEDIATRIC PATIENT CARE: AN INTEGRATIVE REVIEW
Abstract
Introduction: The dental environment provides numerous anxiogenic factors for the patient, and may have several associated factors, such as the child's age and cultural origin, as well as the management of the dental surgeon and family anxiety. Objective: To conduct an integrative review of the literature on the use of dental anxiety scales applied to pediatric dental treatment and their efficacy. Methods: Searches were conducted in the LILACS and PubMed databases using the descriptors "Anxiety to Dental Treatment", and "Pediatric Dentistry" and "Child" and their counterparts in English and Spanish. Articles between the years 2014 and 2024 were selected. Results: The scales most cited in the literature for the subjective measurement of childhood anxiety are the RMS-PS, AES, VPT and FIS. Although divergences were found regarding their superiority, there was a positive correlation in the validation of the pictorial scale (RMS-PS) in the measurement of pediatric anxiety. Another result found refers to the adaptation and cultural translation into Portuguese of the Dental Anxiety Measure (CEDAM) scale, which obtained a positive understanding in Brazilian children. Conclusion: The study showed elements for the understanding of dental anxiety, with regard to the scales adapted to the pediatric patient, although more studies are needed, given the subjectivity of understanding and heterogenicity of the age groups studied, so that they are applicable to the dental office environment, by general practitioners and pediatric dentists.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Camilla Beatriz Ramos de Souza, Suellen Mariana Vieira Borba, Emylly Evyn Oliveira da Silva Matos Lima, Luiz Antônio Evangelista da Silva, Sócrates de França Lins, Gabriel Ronnier de Alencar Oliveira, Ana Luísa Miranda Pinheiro, Rafaela Brito VasconcelosAuthor(s)
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Camilla Beatriz Ramos de Souza
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Suellen Mariana Vieira Borba
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Emylly Evyn Oliveira da Silva Matos Lima
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Luiz Antônio Evangelista da Silva
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Sócrates de França Lins
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Gabriel Ronnier de Alencar Oliveira
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Ana Luísa Miranda Pinheiro
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Rafaela Brito Vasconcelos