Avaliação do medo e ansiedade dos pacientes frente ao tratamento endodôntico.

Abstract

Objective: To check patients' anxiety and fear before the need for endodontic procedures in the city of Caicó-RN. Methodology: The study is an observational, cross-sectional study with a convenience sample consisting of 102 patients seen in 11 Basic Health Units. An interview was carried out via cell phone due to the COVID-19 pandemic for the acquisition of sociodemographic data, and to evaluate the patients' stages of fear and anxiety. The data were obtained through bivariate descriptive and inferential statistics, with the aid of the SPSS program. Results: 81.4% of the sample is composed of the female gender, belonging to the age group of 18 to 40 years, with monthly family income between 1 to 2 indexed. Most of the needy only try to go to the dentist when they feel pain (78.4%). Most of them affirm that they are not afraid to go to the dentist (52.9%), as well as 37.3% affirm that they are not afraid of endodontic treatment. Most individuals are characterized by severe anxiety (41.2%). There was a statistically significant association between the patients' level of anxiety and the fear of the dentist and endodontics. Conclusion: In the related research, it was possible to observe a significant statistic between the patients' anxiety level and the fear of the dentist and endodontics, in which the vast majority only seek care when they feel pain. Therefore, a continuous work to demystify endodontic treatment is necessary.