Dental fear among children of foreign background in a multicultural area in Stockholm

Abstract

AIM: To investigate the occurrence of dental fear among children of foreign background in the city of Södertälje, Sweden. METHODS: Design: Prospective, cross sectional study. The participants comprised 231 7-year-old children with appointments for examination at the Södertälje Public Dental Service. The regular examination was performed, and dental fear was measured according to the parental version of the Children's Fear Survey Schedule Dental Subscale (CFSS-DS). Parents were also asked to fill in a questionnaire covering social background and previous experience of dental care. The study group, which consisted of children of foreign background, was compared to a reference group without foreign background.