AIM: To evaluate the levels of dental attendance and anxiety among children of public (lower to middle socioeconomic groups) and private schools (higher socioeconomic groups), and to explore the perceived source of dental fear among them. METHOD: A group of 1,021 children selected by a simple random method from 10 public schools in the five geographic areas of Irbid Governate, Jordan and all 10 private schools were included in this study. All children (mean age 13.1 +/- 0.87 years) completed a questionnaire modified from the Dental Fear Scale (DFS) which also contained items related to dental attendance. RESULTS: Private school children (31.4%) visited the dentist regularly more significantly than public school children (15.0%) (P < 0.001). However, the majority of children (public = 82.6%, private = 67.4%) attended the dentist only in an emergency. The main reason for irregular attendance was 'treatment not needed' (42.2%). About 43-44% of children had dental fear of 'low to moderate type', while the prevalence of 'high dental anxiety' was slightly higher among children of public (11.6%) than those of private schools (6.9%). Fear of specific stimuli (pain and trauma) was the most common source of dental fear reactions among 60-65% of children. The sight and sensation of an anaesthetic needle and sight, sound and sensation of the drill were the most fear eliciting stimuli. Moreover, public school children were found to be more anxious with a significantly higher 'overall dental fear' than private school children (P < 0.05).