Dental fear may be prevalent in the U.S., according to a study recently published in the Journal of the American Dental Association. Also, it appears that it won’t get better, and instead, signs point to increasing anxiety.
However, online dental fear treatments may be widely accepted and a promising tool to reduce anxiety, the authors wrote.
“Dental fear remains widespread in the United States, suggesting little progress in prevalence reduction,” wrote the authors, led by Richard E. Heyman, PhD, of the New York University College of Dentistry (JADA, September 2025, Vol. 156:9, pp. 696-705).
The study surveyed a stratified sample of 1,003 U.S. adults between October 31 and November 11, 2024, that was designed to closely reflect U.S. Census demographics from the 2022 American Community Survey. Dental fear was measured using a modified Gatchel single-item rating scale, they wrote.
Additionally, participants were asked about their interest in a free, one- to three-hour online treatment for dental fear as part of a compensated research study. Individuals who were not interested selected from six potential reasons, including doubting the treatment’s usefulness or believing it would not fit with their current dental care.
Reviews showed dental fear prevalence at 27% (95% confidence interval [CI], 25.95% to 28.02%) in the U.S. general population and 38.87% (95% CI, 36.77% to 40.98%) in dental clinics. Among participants, 45.8% (95% CI, 42.8% to 48.9%) reported moderate fear, 26.8% (95% CI, 24.1% to 29.6%) severe fear, and 72.6% (95% CI, 70.9% to 74.3%) overall fear, the authors wrote.
Furthermore, of the 728 individuals with moderate to severe fear, 518 (71.2%; 95% CI, 69.4% to 73.0%) expressed interest in digital dental fear treatment. Those not interested cited an average of 1.26 reasons, with the most common reason being doubt that the treatment would reduce their fear (31.8%; 95% CI, 27.9% to 35.7%).
The study, however, had limitations. The census-matched study may have limited generalizability because it was not based on a random sample, the authors wrote.
“Brief digital dental fear treatments offer potential for widespread dissemination,” Heyman and colleagues wrote.
