Prevalence and Factors Associated with Dental Anxiety Among Medical and Dental Students in Benghazi, Libya

Background: Dental anxiety (DA) remains a significant barrier to effective dental care and is associated with avoidance behaviors and poor oral health outcomes. Limited data are available regarding dental anxiety among Libyan university students. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of dental anxiety among undergraduate medical and dental students at the University of Benghazi and to examine its association with sociodemographic factors, academic progression, and dental attendance patterns. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 900 undergraduate students from the Faculties of Medicine and Dentistry during the 2023–2024 academic year. Dental anxiety was measured using the Arabic version of the Modified Dental Anxiety Scale (MDAS). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, the Mann–Whitney U test, the Kruskal–Wallis test, and the chi-square test, with significance set at p < 0.05. Results: Most participants (92.3%) had low to moderate dental anxiety, while 7.7% had high dental anxiety (MDAS ≥19). Female students had significantly higher MDAS scores than males (p < 0.001), although the prevalence of high dental anxiety did not differ significantly by gender (p = 0.425). Younger students and those in earlier academic years showed significantly higher MDAS scores (p < 0.001). Pre-clinical students reported higher MDAS scores compared to clinical students (p < 0.001). Anxiety was higher toward invasive dental procedures, particularly injections and drilling. Irregular dental attenders had slightly higher MDAS scores than regular attenders (p = 0.037), although the prevalence of high dental anxiety did not differ significantly between the two groups (p = 0.659). Conclusion: Dental anxiety was associated with gender, age, level of study, clinical status, and dental attendance patterns among university students. Only 7.7% had high dental anxiety. High anxiety was reported toward invasive dental procedures, while irregular dental attenders had slightly higher MDAS scores than regular attenders. These findings support early identification of students with high dental anxiety and consideration of targeted educational and anxiety-management strategies.