Assessing acoustic noise levels in dental clinics and its link to dental anxiety and fear among UAE population

Abstract

Noise levels originating from several dental tools as well as background noise in dental clinics, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), were assessed using an integrated digital sound level meter. The effect of such noises on the anxiety and attitude of patients towards undergoing dental treatment (or coming back for a follow up treatment), was investigated using a survey containing 11 questions. In addition to demographic questions, the survey included questions on the effect of dental handpieces noises on patients’ decision to visit the dental clinic for treatment, and their annoyance level with such noise. Noise levels in dental clinics were found to range from the background noise level of 62 dBA, to as high as 87 dB(A) for compressed air and steam blasts. While the registered noise levels were below the limit of risk of hearing loss, 35% of adults (ages >14 years) and 53% youth (males and females ages 1014years) reported that noise from handpiece devices have an effect on their decision to undergo dental treatment and was the reason for “dropping-out” of dental follow-up treatment. On the 1 – 10 annoyance level scale, more than 50% of the patients felt “annoyed” to “extremely annoyed” by such noises, with slight gender and age variations. The study concludes that noise levels in UAE dental clinics appear to have an effect on a large number of patients and contributes to their anxiety and fear of dental treatment, with more pronounced effect on young patients. A gender gap (close to 10%) was observed, with more females found to be more annoyed by noises from dental handpieces. A natural extension to this study is to study the effect of such noises on dental professionals working in clinics, and possible risks of induced hearing loss.