Is there an association between head and neck cancer diagnosis and self-reported dental fear? A dual-center cross-sectional study.

Introduction: Mental distress is highly reported in cancer patients, resulting in anxiety and depression most of the time. Both conditions, in turn, are recognized to be related to dental fear in adults; however, there are no studies on patients suffering from head and neck cancer. Thus, the present study aimed to investigate whether newly diagnosed patients with head and neck cancer are more prone to self-reported dental fear.