Cardiovascular influence of dental anxiety during local anesthesia for tooth extraction.

Objective: The present study evaluated whether dental patient anxiety has an effect on the cardiovascular response to the delivery of anesthetic to achieve mandibular anesthesia.

Study Design: One hundred eighty adult patients scheduled to receive routine dental extraction under local anesthesia were enrolled in this prospective study. Anxiety was measured at 15 minutes before local anesthetic delivery using Corah's Dental Anxiety Scale (Corah's DAS).