Dental Anxiety and Higher Sensory Processing Sensitivity in a Sample of German Soldiers with Inflammatory Periodontal Disease

Thomas Eger, Felix Wörner, Ursula Simon, Sandra Konrad and Anne Wolowski
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Thomas Eger: Department of XXIII Dentistry-Periodontology, Bundeswehr Central Hospital Koblenz, Ruebenacherstrasse 170, 56072 Koblenz, Germany
Felix Wörner: Department of XXIII Dentistry-Periodontology, Bundeswehr Central Hospital Koblenz, Ruebenacherstrasse 170, 56072 Koblenz, Germany
Ursula Simon: Department of VI Center for Mental Health and Psychiatry, Bundeswehr Central Hospital Koblenz, Ruebenacherstrasse 170, 56072 Koblenz, Germany
Sandra Konrad: Department of Personality Psychology and Psychological Diagnostics, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Helmut-Schmidt-University/University of the Bundeswehr Hamburg, Gebäude H4, Holstenhofweg 85, 22043 Hamburg, Germany
Anne Wolowski: Department of Prosthodontics and Biomaterials, Albert-Schweitzer-Campus 1, University Hospital and Faculty of Medicine Muenster, 48149 Muenster, Germany

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 4, 1-10

Abstract: (1) Background: Dental anxiety with disease value usually leads to avoidance of dental treatment. For the initial diagnosis of the level of anxiety, questionnaires such as the Hierarchical Anxiety Questionnaire (HAQ) are suitable. The construct of sensory processing sensitivity (SPS) describes a general trait in which people with a higher degree of SPS perceive information more strongly and process it more thoroughly. (2) Methods: This cross-sectional study evaluated the relationship between dental anxiety and higher levels of SPS in 116 soldiers referred with different stages of periodontitis for mandatory dental fitness before military deployment. (3) Results: The proportion of patients with periodontitis in stage III + IV was 39% and in stage I + II was 27%. The mean cumulative values of the questionnaires were 20.9 ± 10.6 for HAQ and 27.7 ± 16.0 for SPS. Eleven moderately anxious patients had a SPS value of 37.4 ± 13.5 and 10 highly anxious patients had a value of 36.3 ± 14.1. Patients diagnosed with stage III + IV periodontitis showed significantly higher values on the SPS subscale Low Sensory Threshold (LST), which describes overstimulation by external sensory stimuli, compared to patients with stage I + II periodontitis. Dental anxiety showed moderately significant correlations with the SPS subscale Ease of Excitation (EOE), which measures emotional reactivity to physiological stimuli. (4) Conclusions: Due to the frequency of dental anxiety and higher sensitivity in patients with severe periodontitis, it is useful to record said frequency.

Keywords: periodontitis; dental anxiety; sensory processing sensitivity; military dental fitness (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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