Is there a relationship of negative oral health beliefs with dental fear and anxiety regarding diverse dental patient groups? A systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVES: This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to critically appraise the evidence on the relationship of oral health beliefs with dental fear and anxiety in distinct patient groups.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Observational studies were retrieved by Cochrane, Embase Search, Portal BVS, Clinical Trials, Ovid, Open Gray, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science, and they were manually checked for the inclusion of additional articles of interest. The assessment of quality of studies was performed by the application of three different versions of the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale, for cohort, case-control, and cross-sectional studies. Only studies with low or unclear/moderate risk of bias contributed to meta-analyses, regarding the analysis of random effects of mean differences of dental beliefs scores between dental fear/anxiety and control groups, and the correlation of dental beliefs with dental fear and anxiety measures.

RESULTS: Of 276 articles initially retrieved, 10 were included in the systematic review, while only 6 studies with unclear/moderate risk of bias were considered in meta-analyses. The mean difference of dental beliefs effects was higher in patients with dental fear and anxiety compared to controls (1.20; 95% CI 0.27-2.14; P = 0.01). Additionally, a moderate positive correlation was observed between dental beliefs and dental fear measures (r = 0.54, 95% CI 0.47-0.60; P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS: Based on these results, the presence of negative health beliefs is directly related to the increase of dental fear and anxiety; however, these findings are supported in studies with unclear/moderate risk of bias.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Dental fear and anxiety is an important obstacle for the access of dental treatment and patient-dentist relationship, leading to inadequate oral health levels.