Determinants of early- vs late-onset dental fear in a longitudinal-epidemiological study

A longitudinal investigation of risk factors for early- and late-onset dent al fear was conducted. Early-onset dental fear was related to conditioning experiences (indexed via caries level and tooth loss), service use patterns , stress reactive personality and specific beliefs about health professiona ls. Late-onset dental fear was related to aversive conditioning experiences , irregular service use and an external locus of control. In contrast to re cent findings for dental anxiety, personality factors were not strongly rel ated to the onset of dental fear in young adulthood. The key role played by conditioning events in the development of both early- and late-onset denta l fear was confirmed. Conditioning events appear to play a different role i n the development of dental fear vs dental anxiety. This may reflect import ant, but largely ignored differences between these two closely-related cons tructs. Interventions for early-onset dental fear should aim to modify both the dental fear and the personality vulnerabilities that may contribute to the development of dental fear early in the life-course. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.