Dental and Periodontal Health, Oral Health-Related Quality of Life and Life Satisfaction in Patients with Severe Dental Phobia

Dental and Periodontal Health, Oral Health-Related Quality of Life and Life Satisfaction in Patients with Severe Dental Phobia | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Dental and Periodontal Health, Oral Health-Related Quality of Life and Life Satisfaction in Patients with Severe Dental Phobia Maria Lenk, Carolin Rose, Kerstin Weidner, Joerg Rietschel, Christian Hannig, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6294141/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 08 Oct, 2025 Read the published version in Scientific Reports → Version 1 posted 11 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract As a "simple phobia", dental phobia is often dismissed as a harmless anxiety disorder and relegated to the domain of dentists, who can treat the dental diseases but not the anxiety disorder. The subjective burden of patients with dental phobia is indicated by numerous studies showing reduced oral health-related quality of life (OHRQL). We aimed to assess the biopsychosocial consequences from objective oral manifestations to the previously unknown effects on life satisfaction. In our cross-sectional study, 61 dental phobic patients and 69 age-matched non-anxious patients were recruited before treatment under endotracheal anesthesia. In addition to a higher caries burden, dental phobic patients had a higher prevalence of periodontal diseases. Their OHRQL was reduced, with shame and affective impairment due to dental problems being most prominent. They were significantly dissatisfied with almost all aspects of daily life. In particular, their dissatisfaction with themselves, their sexuality, their friendships, and their financial situation were associated with oral health-related shame. The shame-inducing fear of being stigmatized because of visible dental problems appears to contribute to discomfort and withdrawal from social and intimate contacts. The consequences of untreated dental phobia highlight the importance of early psychotherapy and a trusting, non-shaming therapeutic relationship in dental treatment. Biological sciences/Psychology Health sciences/Diseases Health sciences/Medical research Health sciences/Risk factors dental phobia oral health related quality of life life satisfaction caries periodontal disease Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 08 Oct, 2025 Read the published version in Scientific Reports → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 30 Jul, 2025 Reviews received at journal 28 Jul, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 17 Jul, 2025 Reviews received at journal 23 Apr, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 15 Apr, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 15 Apr, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 14 Apr, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 14 Apr, 2025 Editor invited by journal 11 Apr, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 11 Apr, 2025 First submitted to journal 24 Mar, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6294141","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":446906509,"identity":"35a305c5-fb79-49ed-97c4-4728d21fb2c7","order_by":0,"name":"Maria 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