Dental anxiety before and after endodontic microsurgery

Abstract

Introduction: Endodontic microsurgery is a treatment option if previous procedures have been unsuccessful. As a result, many patients may suffer from a high level of dental anxiety. Dental anxiety impacts different aspects of life, so it is important to measure it with psychometric scales to avoid its underestimation. Previous studies related to dental anxiety used visual analogue scale (VAS), which is a quick and simple non-verbal measurement instrument. Objectives: The aim of this study was to measure and compare pre- and post-endodontic microsurgery dental anxiety using VAS. Material and methods: Thirty-five patients, who met the inclusion criteria and were previously scheduled to undergo endodontic microsurgery, answered VAS related to dental anxiety before and after the procedure. Microsurgery was performed by postgraduate students and monitored by a clinical supervisor. VAS values were analyzed with descriptive statistics. Shapiro-Wilk test determined to use Wilcoxon rank-sum test. Confidence level of the study was 95% and p < 0.05. Results: Anxiety levels showed no significant change over the analyzed period. Pre- and post-endodontic microsurgery anxiety levels did not markedly change in relation to gender either. Nevertheless, women’s anxiety median values tended to decrease after the endodontic microsurgery. On the contrary, men tended to increase their anxiety levels after the procedure. Conclusions: Within the limits of the present study, there was not a statistically significant difference in the pre-and post-endodontic microsurgery anxiety values.