{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,30]],"date-time":"2026-07-30T18:08:20Z","timestamp":1785434900441,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":43,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,30]],"date-time":"2026-04-30T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1777507200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100003593","name":"Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cient\u00edfico e Tecnol\u00f3gico","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","award":["#404426\/2023"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["#404426\/2023"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100003593","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]},{"award":["#404426\/2023"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["#404426\/2023"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/03swz6y49","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100002322","name":"Coordena\u00e7\u00e3o de Aperfei\u00e7oamento de Pessoal de N\u00edvel Superior","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","award":["PIPD-1\/2024"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["PIPD-1\/2024"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100002322","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]},{"award":["PIPD-1\/2024"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["PIPD-1\/2024"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/00x0ma614","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJERPH"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Dental fear and anxiety (DFA) are common among children, and their occurrence needs to be assessed in population-based studies. This study aimed to evaluate a structural model for the association of DFA in children with individual and family-related factors. A representative cross-sectional study was conducted in Carm\u00f3polis de Minas, Brazil, with 272 children aged 4\u20136 years. Children\u2019s DFA was self-reported using the Children\u2019s Fear Survey Scale\u2014Dental Subscale, and caregivers' DFA using the Dental Fear Survey. Caregivers provided sociodemographic information on the family and children\u2019s health. Two calibrated dentists examined the children for dental caries using the DMFT index. Structural equation modelling was performed. Dental caries showed a direct association with greater DFA in children (\u03b2 = 0.145; p = 0.036). Toothache showed an indirect association with children\u2019s DFA through the variable \u201cdental visit\u201d, as children with toothache had visited the dentist more recently (\u03b2 = 0.401; p &lt; 0.001), and a more recent dental visit was associated with DFA (\u03b2 = \u22120.158; p = 0.037). Maternal depression was associated with greater caregiver DFA (\u03b2 = 0.124; p = 0.006), but no association was found between children\u2019s DFA and caregiver\u2019s DFA (p &gt; 0.05). Children with caries-related toothache who visited the dentist within six months before data collection\u2014and more recently\u2014had higher DFA.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph23050592","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,1]],"date-time":"2026-05-01T09:33:17Z","timestamp":1777627997000},"page":"592","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Dental Fear and Anxiety in Children: Association with Individual and Familiar Factors Using Structural Equational Modelling"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"23","author":[{"given":"Ana Clara F.","family":"Paiva","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), 6627 Av. Ant\u00f4nio Carlos, Belo Horizonte 312070-901, MG, Brazil"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"J\u00e9ssica M.","family":"Bittencourt","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), 6627 Av. Ant\u00f4nio Carlos, Belo Horizonte 312070-901, MG, Brazil"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Daniela","family":"Rabelo-Costa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), 6627 Av. Ant\u00f4nio Carlos, Belo Horizonte 312070-901, MG, Brazil"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jennifer E.","family":"Gallagher","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Dental Public Health, Centre for Host Microbiome Interactions, Faculty of Dentistry, Oral & Craniofacial Sciences, King\u2019s College London, Bessemer Rd., London SE5 9RS, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Saul M.","family":"Paiva","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), 6627 Av. Ant\u00f4nio Carlos, Belo Horizonte 312070-901, MG, Brazil"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4849-8779","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Cristiane B.","family":"Bendo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), 6627 Av. Ant\u00f4nio Carlos, Belo Horizonte 312070-901, MG, Brazil"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,30]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"168","DOI":"10.1111\/ipd.12712","article-title":"Prevalence of dental anxiety in children and adolescents globally: A systematic review with meta-analyses","volume":"31","author":"Grisolia","year":"2020","journal-title":"Int. J. Paediatr. 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