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Self-Esteem as a Predictor of Dental Anxiety in Turkish Children: A Cross-Sectional Study

Aybike Memiş, Yasemin Akın, Merve Demirkoparan, Didem Atabek

Children, 2026

204 participants

Abstract

Highlights What are the main findings? Self-esteem was the only significant independent predictor of dental anxiety (r = −0.301, p 0.05). A moderate negative correlation (r = −0.301, p < 0.001) was observed between self-esteem and dental anxiety. Regression analysis confirmed self-esteem as the only significant independent predictor of dental anxiety (Adjusted R2 = 0.080, p < 0.001) in this model. Conclusions: Findings indicate that self-esteem is independently associated with pediatric dental anxiety, although the explained variance was modest. Whether incorporating children’s psychological profile into behavioral management improves clinical outcomes remains to be investigated.

How strong is the evidence?

Evidence Hub reads this as a cross-sectional, done in people. Its evidence level is 4 of 5 (Low · observational). Observational designs can show an association but not prove cause. Reported size: 204 participants or records.

How the five levels of evidence work. The level is assigned automatically from the abstract and can be wrong, so check the paper.

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