Alcohol use disorder, smoking and dental fear among adults in Finland

Abstract

Objective. This study investigated the association between dental fear and alcohol use disorder and smoking controlling for age, gender and attained level of education as well as anxiety and depressive disorders. Materials and methods. Nationally representative data on Finnish adults, 30 + years old (n = 5953), were gathered in interviews. Dental fear was measured in an interview using the question: ‘How afraid are you of visiting a dentist?’ The alternatives for replying were: ‘Not at all’, ‘Somewhat’ and ‘Very’. Alcohol use, anxiety and depressive disorders were assessed with a standardized structured psychiatric interview based on DSM-IV criteria. The question on regularity of smoking gave three reply alternatives: smoking ‘Daily’, ‘Occasionally’ or ‘Not at all’. Results. When socio-demographics and anxiety and depressive disorders were controlled for, those with lifetime alcohol use disorder were more likely to have high dental fear than were those without this disorder. When smoking was added to the model, those who smoked regularly were more likely to have high dental fear than those who smoked occasionally or not at all. In this model, alcohol use disorder was not statistically significantly associated with dental fear. Conclusions. The results of this study support the suggestion that some individuals may have personality traits that make them vulnerable to substance use disorders and dental fear.

Key Words::

• alcohol dependence
• alcohol use disorder
• smoking
• vulnerability to dental fear

Acknowledgments

This study, which is part of the Health 2000 Examination Survey organized by the National Public Health Institute (KTL) of Finland, was partly supported by the Finnish Dental Society Apollonia and the Finnish Dental Association. The first author is grateful for a personal grant provided by the Finnish Dental Society Apollonia.

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.