Effect of Environmental Tobacco Smoke on Children’s Anxiety and Behavior in Dental Clinics, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study
2021
Heba J. Sabbagh | Ghadeer Sharton | Jumana Almaghrabi | Manal Al-Malik | Mona Hassan Ahmed Hassan | Narmin Helal
Background: Environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) has been linked to behavioral problems, but no study has assessed its relationship with dental anxiety. Therefore, this study&rsquo:s goal is to assess the relation between ETS and both behavioral problems and dental anxiety among children. Methods: The study sample was collected from two centres in Jeddah from October 2019 to January 2020. Inclusion criteria included healthy 5&ndash:16-year-old children having their first dental visit with no emergency complaint. The questionnaire including general information, ETS exposure, the child&rsquo:s anxiety using the Abeer Children Dental Anxiety Scale (ACDAS) and dental behavior using the Frankl Behavioral Rating Scale. Results: Of 500 children, 337 (67.4% response rate) responded to the questionnaire, among whom 201 (59.6%) had been exposed to passive smoking compared to 136 (40.4%) who had not. Exposed children had a statistically significantly greater tendency to develop anxiety (p = 0.002) and demonstrate uncooperative behavior (p = 0.006). Generalized linear mode and binary regression analyses suggested that ETS has a statistically significant effect on children&rsquo:s dental anxiety and behavior (p <: 0.05). Conclusions: Children exposed to ETS demonstrated statistically significantly higher anxiety levels and uncooperative behavior in the dental clinic compared to those who were not exposed.
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