Determining the anxiety and fear of children between 5-10 years old to get dental treatment to receive dental treatment

Hospitalization is a situation that creates negative situations for children of all age groups. This study was conducted as a descriptive study to determine the anxiety and fears of children admitted to Erciyes University Gülşah-Mert Tatar Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Hospital. The sample of the study consisted of children aged 5-10 years old and their parents who were hospitalized between August 2023 and March 2024 (n = 150). In the research, where ethical committee, institutional and parental approval was obtained, data were collected by face-to-face interviews using the "Socio-Demographic Information Data Collection Form", "Child Anxiety Scale State (CSA)" and "Child Fear Scale (CFS)". The evaluation of the data was done in a computer environment using descriptive statistics, independent groups t-test, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), post hoc (Tukey, LSD) and Pearson correlation analyses. The average anxiety scores of the children were 4.99±3.36, indicating that they experienced 'medium level' anxiety, and the average fear scores were 2.70±1.46, indicating that they experienced 'medium-high level' fear. It was determined that the anxiety and fear scores of children of parents who felt tense and anxious and of children who did not brush their own teeth and received help were higher (p<0.05). It was found that the anxiety scores of children who received training on oral and dental health were lower, and the fear scores of children who had previous dental treatment experience were lower (p<0.05). It was determined that anxiety and fear scores were high (p>0.05) in children whose mothers had a primary education level, who had previously undergone a medical procedure, who were not informed before coming to the hospital, and who had 3 or more companions with the child. It was observed that variables such as the child's age, gender, temperament, hospitalization experience, number of children, family income level, frequency of brushing their teeth, frequency of going to the dentist did not affect the children's anxiety and fear scores (p>0.05). Additionally, it was determined that there was a weak positive relationship between children's anxiety and fear scores (r=0.333; p<.001). In line with these results, children whose parents are nervous and anxious, whose mother has education level was lower, who have medical procedure experience, who are not informed before coming to the hospital, and who have a large number of companions are considered to be at a disadvantage in terms of experiencing anxiety and fear, should be followed frequently by pediatric nurses to reduce their anxiety and fear. It is recommended to plan interventions for this purpose.