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Abstract

Introduction: To assess the anxiety related to dental treatment and its association with sterilization concerns in dentalpatientsMethodology: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on 400 patients visiting the dental OPD of SharifMedical and Dental College, Lahore from June 2019 to June 2020. A questionnaire regarding level of dental anxiety wasgiven to the patients. Data was collected using a pre-validated scale with a Cronbach alpha value of 0.89; Modified DentalAnxiety Scale (MDAS). Levels of anxiety was categorized as high level of anxiety (score >19) and moderate to low anxiety(score<18).Results: There was no statistically significant association between the level of dental anxiety due to sterilization concerns(p=0.250). Gender had a non-significant association while age (p=0.001) and marital status (p=0.002) and level of education(p=0.020) had a significant association with dental anxiety due to sterilization concerns.Conclusion: Most of the patients reported to feel anxious moderately before dental treatment because of sterilizationconcerns. A higher percentage of females, the age group 18 to 29 years and patients with tertiary level of educationreported the highest percentage of anxiety due to sterilization concerns during dental treatment.