Association between maternal dental anxiety and its effect on the oral health status of their child: An institutional cross sectional study

Aim: To assess the association between maternal dental anxiety and its effect on the oral health status of their child, in Murad nagar -An institutional cross-sectional study.

Materials and methods: Among the randomly selected 200 mother-child pairs, a cross-sectional study was done. The children of 2-5 years were selected for the study. A five-level Modified Dental Anxiety Scale (MDAS), Hindi edition, was used to assess dental anxiety among the mothers. Clinical examination of the wards was finished by using a modified gingival record and WHO dentition status (2013). The SPSS software version 20 was used for statistical analysis.

Results: Approximately, 61% of the children were males, and 39% were females. The modified gingival index (MGI) score was high, if there should arise an occurrence of high MDAS values. The mean MGI score was most astounding in phobic class of MDAS and least in the not anxious classification. The MGI score expanded on increment in maternal anxiety. Dental caries expanded in kids, if there should be an occurrence of high maternal dental uneasiness. The MDAS demonstrated a critical association with clinical oral health results of the child. The children whose mothers were "extremely anxious" (phobic) had the highest mean decayed, missing, or filled teeth.

Conclusion: Maternal dental anxiety significantly affects the oral health status of their ward.