International Journal of Health Sciences & Research (www.ijhsr.org) 101 Vol.7; Issue: 5; May 2017 International Journal of Health Sciences and Research www.ijhsr.org ISSN: 2249-9571 Original Research Article Dental Anxiety among UQU Dental Clinics Patients Jaber Al-Zaed 1 , Saleh Al-ghamdi 1 , Majed Ibrahim 1 , Abdel-Rahman Youssef 2 1 Post Graduate Student, Community Dentistry Department, 2 Assistant Professor in Microbiology & Immunology, Faculty of Dentistry, Umm Al-Qura University, Saudi Arabia. Corresponding Author: Abdel-Rahman Youssef ABSTRACT Background: Dental anxiety is a common worldwide problem; it may cause treatment difficulties for the dentist, as well as severe consequences for the patient. Pain is the main reason foe seeking dental care. Expressing patient's anxiety appears when the stimulus triggers the reaction of anxiety. Objective: The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence and causes of dental anxiety in patient attending teaching hospital at Umm Al-Qura University. Methods: A questionnaire was designed to collect the data from adult dental patient regarding to dental anxiety. We used Modified Dental Anxiety Scale (MDAS) to determine the level of anxiety. Result: The results showed that 90% of patients were anxious. Anesthesia and drilling were the most common causes for dental anxiety. According to Dental Anxiety Scale we found that 50 % of patients were slightly anxious, 25 % fairly anxious, 14% very anxious, 1% extremely anxious and 10% non- anxious. Conclusion: The majority of patients were anxious and anesthesia was the major cause of anxiety. Necessary measures are needed to reduce dental anxiety. Key words: Dental Anxiety, Modified Dental Anxiety Scale (MDAS), Umm Al-Qura University. INTRODUCTION Dental anxiety is specific reaction to stress linked to dental treatment. [1] It is a common problem among many dental patients. The prevalence of dental anxiety has been shown through various studies. Most studies estimated the prevalence of dental anxiety to be between 4 – 20%. [2] Dental anxiety may exert a negative impact on the therapeutic management. Anxious patients are likely to postpone the appointment or avoid treatment completely which would adversely affect the health of the mouth and teeth. [3] It has been shown that anxious patients have more decayed and missing teeth compared with relaxed patients. [4] The quality of life can be affected by bad oral hygiene. [5] Treating anxious patients might require more time and need more care and more experience. Expressing patient's anxiety appears when stimulus triggers the reaction of anxiety. Dental anxiety is usually a very complex problem. It might sometimes be easy to see that the patient is anxious, but finding out exactly what the problem is and how to help the patient, is often more difficult. [6] Many factors can contribute to dental anxiety. [7] A negative experience in the past is the main reason for the fear of the dentist. [8] Many of dental procedures may provoke more anxiety such as tooth extraction due to physical and psychological impact. [9] The dental anxiety can be affected negatively by the result of dental treatment. [10] The negative influence can be physical or psychological. [11] Physical effect may