Relationship of Anxiety and Depression with Perfectionism in Patients with Aesthetic All-Ceramic Repair of Anterior Teeth

BACKGROUND: Many psychological problems arising from patients undergoing aesthetic repair of teeth should be considered. However, there are no published studies on the relationship between anxiety/depression and perfectionism in patients with aesthetic repair of anterior teeth. MATERIAL/METHODS: A total of 640 patients receiving aesthetic repair of anterior teeth were assessed using the Corah dental anxiety scale (CDAS), a self-rating anxiety scale (SAS), a self-rating depression scale (SDS), and the Chinese version of the Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Psychological Scale (CFMPS). Statistical analyses included use of the independent-samples t test, correlation analysis, and multiple stepwise regression analysis. RESULTS: We found that 156 patients with a high dental anxiety disorder had significantly greater SAS and SDS scores than those without a high dental anxiety disorder. There were significant differences between these patients and the non-high dental anxiety group, based on 3 dimensions of the CFMPS: concern over mistakes (CM), doubt about action (DA), and organization (OR). Patients with dental anxiety had a significant positive correlation with SAS in the categories CM and DA, with SDS in the categories CM and DA, and with personal standard (PS); OR was negatively correlated with SAS and SDS scores. Regression analysis showed that the CM and OR dimension scores of CFMPS and age had strong predictive effects on SAS scores, while CM, DA, PS dimension scores, and age were strong predictors of SDS scores. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of dental anxiety prior to anterior tooth repair treatment is high, and patients with dental anxiety have a significant tendency toward pursuing perfectionism.