Peer-reviewed article
Dental Radiophobia: A Narrative Review of Prevalence, Associated Factors, and Public Health Consequences of Dental Radiography Fear in the Community - With a Focus on Both Patient and Clinician-Level Fear.
Pourmohammadi-Nejad F, Nourizadeh N, Mehdipour A, Yousefi-Ahmadipour A ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This is a narrative review of dental radiophobia—fear of X-rays in dental settings—examining prevalence, risk factors, and public health consequences. The review covers both patient fear and clinician-level concerns about radiation. While it mentions children and adolescents as one population affected, the focus is on general dental anxiety across age groups and clinical management rather than child well-being outcomes.
Key points
- General dental fear affects 10-20% of children and adolescents, with dental phobia at 3% in adults
- Mean fear scores for dental radiography are low but highly variable; pain during procedures is a significant predictor
- Risk factors include female sex, younger age, lower education, prior painful experiences, and limited radiation knowledge
- Clinician radiophobia impedes adoption of advanced imaging technologies like CBCT
- Public health consequences include patient refusal of needed radiographs, avoidance of care, and delayed diagnosis
Limitations
This is a narrative review rather than primary research, synthesizing existing literature without systematic methodology. It does not evaluate any specific intervention's effectiveness or provide detailed outcome data on child health impacts.
Abstract
Background Dental radiography is an indispensable diagnostic tool, yet many patients experience fear specifically associated with radiographic examinations. This phenomenon-dental radiophobia-represents an exaggerated fear of ionizing radiation in the dental setting. This review examines both patient-level fear and clinician-level radiophobia, which manifests as unfounded concern about low-dose radiation that impedes CBCT adoption. Methods A narrative review was conducted using PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science (2000-2025). Search terms included "dental radiophobia", "fear of dental X‑rays", and "dental radiography anxiety" combined with "prevalence", "risk factors", and "public health". Peer‑reviewed English‑language studies on human subjects were included. Data extraction was thematic. Results General dental fear affects 10-20% of children/adolescents. In adults, meta‑analyses report a pooled prevalence of high dental anxiety of 18% (95% CI 10-30%) and dental phobia of 3%. For dental radiography, mean fear scores are low (0.8 ± 1.8 on a 0-10 visual analogue scale) but with high variance, and pain during intraoral procedures is a significant predictor. Key associated factors include female sex, younger age, lower education, prior painful radiographic experiences, limited radiation knowledge, and reliance on internet information. Clinician radiophobia (unfounded concern about low‑dose radiation) impedes CBCT adoption. Public health consequences include patient refusal of radiographs, avoidance of care, delayed diagnosis, increased oral disease burden, and medico‑legal liability. Conclusion Dental radiophobia is a clinically relevant phenomenon with measurable prevalence, identifiable risk factors, and tangible public health implications. Effective management includes non‑pharmacological behavioral techniques, improved patient communication, and evidence‑based radiation risk communication. Future research should focus on validated instruments and targeted interventions.