The Relationship between Dental Fear and Anxiety, General Anxiety/Fear, Sensory Over-Responsivity, and Oral Health Behaviors and Outcomes: A Conceptual Model.

Dental fear and anxiety (DFA) is common across the lifespan and represents a barrier to proper oral health behaviors and outcomes. The aim of this study is to present a conceptual model of the relationships between DFA, general anxiety/fear, sensory over-responsivity (SOR), and/or oral health behaviors and outcomes. Two rounds of literature searches were performed using the PubMed database.