The objective of this study was to examine possible causes of fear of dental treatment in middle school students. The subjects were a total of 347 students who were selected by convenience sampling from among the students of the middle schools located in Cheongju, Korea. They were administered a self report survey. The results showed that overall dental fear was higher among female students than male students. With respect to associative dental fears, they felt fear the most when they waited sitting on the dental chair. In fears of specific dental stimuli, needles were the most fearful stimulus. In the areas of fears of specific dental stimuli and overall dental fear, the subjects with indirect pain experiences felt fear more. There exists a need to develop dental health care programs that will help to manage and decrease fear of dental treatment.