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Table 1 Modified version of the Dental Anxiety Scale (MDAS)

From: Interrater agreement between children’s self-reported and their mothers’ proxy-reported dental anxiety: a Chinese cross-sectional study

1

If you had to go to the dentist tomorrow for a check-up, how would you feel about it?

(a)

I would look forward to it as a reasonably enjoyable experience

(b)

I would not care one way or the other

(c)

I would be a little uneasy about it

(d)

I would be afraid that it would be unpleasant and painful

(e)

I would be very frightened of what the dentist would do

2

When you are waiting in the dentist's office for your turn in the chair, how do you feel?

(a)

Relaxed

(b)

A little uneasy

(c)

Tense

(d)

Anxious

(e)

So anxious that I sometimes break out in a sweat or almost feel physically sick

3

When you are in the dentist's chair waiting while the dentist gets the drill ready to begin working on your teeth, how do you feel?

(a)

Relaxed

(b)

A little uneasy

(c)

Tense

(d)

Anxious

(e)

So anxious that I sometimes break out in a sweat or almost feel physically sick

4

Imagine you are in the dentist's chair to have your teeth cleaned. While you are waiting and the dentist or hygienist is getting out the instruments which will be used to scrape your teeth around the gums, how do you feel?

(a)

Relaxed

(b)

A little uneasy

(c)

Tense

(d)

Anxious

(e)

So anxious that I sometimes break out in a sweat or almost feel physically sick

5

If you were about to have a local anesthetic injection in your gum, above an upper back tooth, how would you feel?

(a)

Relaxed

(b)

A little uneasy

(c)

Tense

(d)

Anxious

(e)

So anxious that I sometimes break out in a sweat or almost feel physically sick

  1. a = 1, b = 2, c = 3, d = 4, e = 5. Total possible = 20. Anxiety rating: 9–12 = moderate anxiety but have specific stressors that should be discussed and managed; 13–14 = high anxiety; 15–20 = severe anxiety (or phobia), may be manageable with the Dental Concerns Assessment but might require the help of a mental health therapist