Suaugusių žmonių dantų gydymo baimės ir burnos ligų profilaktikos sąsajos

Despite advances in modern dentistry, one in seven adults experiences fear before visiting a dentist. This indicates a high prevalence of fear of dental procedures (Armfield et al., 2013). Oral health is often associated with fear of dental treatment. People who delay visits to the dentist because of fear of dental treatment experience more symptomatic and more severe oral disease (Armfield et al., 2007). Prevention of oral diseases is very important to maintain oral health (Judah et al., 2013). The research aims to reveal the links between fear of dental treatment in adults and preventing oral cavities. The objectives are to reveal the concept of fear in adults and the links between the concept of fear and the prevention of oral diseases; describe the most common diseases of the oral cavity because of the fear of dental treatment; and investigate the causes of adults’ fear of dental treatment and oral disease prevention. The methods included the analysis of scientific literature and survey data. To determine the links between adults’ fear of dental treatment and the prevention of oral cavities, a closed-ended written survey was used, consisting of questions compiled by the authors based on scientific literature. The study sample consists of 270 respondents who meet the selection criteria. The survey was conducted from 22 April 2022 to 30 April 2022. The research results revealed that most adults fear dental treatment, which is impacted by the experience of painful treatment or the dentist’s rude behaviour. People are usually afraid of being misunderstood due to oral hygiene, pain, analgesia, caries treatment, and tooth extraction. Most people who fear dental treatment try to avoid visits to an oral care professional and only pay a visit when problems arise. People who fear dental treatment underestimate their oral cavity’s condition and often do not properly perform individual oral hygiene.