• Hiroyuki Karibe, Michihiko Koeda, Kyoko Aoyagi-Naka, Yuichi Kato, Amane Tateno, Hidenori Suzuki, and Yoshiro Okubo.
• Department of Pediatric Dentistry, School of Life Dentistry at Tokyo, Nippon Dental University, Tokyo, Japan.
• Patient Prefer Adher. 2019 Jan 1; 13: 1051-1056.

PurposeThe sound of dental treatments can evoke anxiety in some dental patients. While women have shown greater dental anxiety than men, little is known about the gender differences in the perception of dental sounds. The purpose of this preliminary study was to evaluate differences in the perception of dental sounds according to the level of dental fear and gender.Patients And MethodsBased on the level of dental fear, 69 adults (39 women, 30 men; average age, 28.1±8.1 years) were categorized into four groups. Three types of sounds were presented to participants: two sounds associated with dental treatment and a neutral sound. All participants rated their emotional reaction to each sound on a visual analog scale.ResultsSignificant differences were observed for ratings of valence and disgust for a dental drilling sound among the four groups (p=0.007 and 0.004, respectively). Female participants in the dental fear group rated the dental drilling sound as more negative and disgusting than did female participants in the control group (p=0.002 for both ratings). However, no significant differences were found in ratings between males in the dental fear and control groups.ConclusionPerception of dental sounds appears to differ by level of dental fear and by gender. Considering these differences may contribute to reducing fear in dental patients.

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