419876

Exploring Dental Anxiety: The Impact of Academic Discipline on LIMU University Students’ Perceptions and Experiences.

Article

Last updated: 09 Apr 2025

Subjects

-

Tags

Pediatric & Preventive Dentistry

Abstract

Background: Dental anxiety affects many college students and can have a negative effect on both their general academic achievement. The current study aims to ascertain the demographic parameters impacting anxiety levels about dental treatment in different faculties at LIMU University in Benghazi, Libya. Materials and Methods: The current cross-sectional study included 350 randomly selected students from a total of 1988 enrolled in various LIMU university faculties. Participants were given a printed, anonymous self-administered questionnaire to assess dental anxiety, which employed the Modified Dental Anxiety Scale (MDAS) developed by Humphris et al. in 1995. The MDAS is made up of five closed-ended questions that ask respondents to rate their anxiety about dental procedures on a scale of 1 (not anxious) to 5 (extremely hesitant), with scores ranging from 5 to 25. In this study, those who scored 20 or higher were considered to have significant dental anxiety, which could imply dental phobia. Results: The age range of the respondents was 17 to 28. The greatest anxiety levels—22.3% within the high range—students in the Applied Medical Sciences outscored those in Information Technology (19.4%) and Pharmacy (18.1%). Conclusion: The majority of respondents had moderate degrees of anxiety, with higher percentages of worry in some faculties. These results highlight the need for focused treatments to address and reduce dental anxiety, especially for students in the faculties of pharmacy, information technology, and applied medical sciences.

DOI

10.21608/edj.2025.343938.3304

Keywords

dental anxiety, anxiety levels, Dental Health Awareness, Dental Treatment Anxiety, health education

Authors

First Name

Ibrahim

Last Name

Garoushi

MiddleName

-

Affiliation

Lecturer, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Faculty of Dentistry, Libyan International Medical University, Benghazi, Libya.

Email

ibrahim.garoushi@limu.edu.ly

City

-

Orcid

0000-0002-3769-7513

First Name

Wisal

Last Name

Elfergani

MiddleName

-

Affiliation

Graduate General Practionar, Faculty of Dentistry, Libyan International Medical University, Benghazi, Libya.

Email

wisal.el@dr.com

City

-

Orcid

0009-0009-3433-6569

First Name

Rafik

Last Name

Alkowafi

MiddleName

-

Affiliation

Assistant Prof, Faculty of Dentistry, Libyan International Medical University, Benghazi, Libya

Email

rafik.alkowafi@limu.edu.ly

City

Benghazi

Orcid

0009-0005-5599-0675

First Name

Rihan

Last Name

Saad

MiddleName

-

Affiliation

Graduate General Practionar, Faculty of Dentistry, Libyan International Medical University, Benghazi, Libya.

Email

raihanbader369@gmail.com

City

Benghazi

Orcid

0009-0004-7312-0414

First Name

Shahd

Last Name

sultan

MiddleName

-

Affiliation

Graduate General Practionar, Faculty of Dentistry, Libyan International Medical University, Benghazi, Libya.

Email

shojett95@gmail.com

City

Benghazi

Orcid

0009-0005-5311-7645

First Name

Nada

Last Name

Benali

MiddleName

-

Affiliation

Assistant Prof, Faculty of Dentistry, Libyan International Medical University, Benghazi, Libya

Email

nada.benali@limu.edu.ly

City

Benghazi

Orcid

0000-0002-4836-9558

Volume

71

Article Issue

2

Related Issue

54779

Issue Date

2025-04-01

Receive Date

2024-12-16

Publish Date

2025-04-01

Page Start

1,033

Page End

1,040

Print ISSN

0070-9484

Online ISSN

2090-2360

Link

https://edj.journals.ekb.eg/article_419876.html

Detail API

http://journals.ekb.eg?_action=service&article_code=419876

Order

419,876

Type

Original Article

Type Code

254

Publication Type

Journal

Publication Title

Egyptian Dental Journal

Publication Link

https://edj.journals.ekb.eg/

MainTitle

Exploring Dental Anxiety: The Impact of Academic Discipline on LIMU University Students’ Perceptions and Experiences.

Details

Type

Article

Created At

09 Apr 2025