This review of the effectiveness of relaxing music, audio-visuals (AV), and virtual reality (VR) in reducing dental anxiety associated with tooth extraction included 11 RCTs. The findings suggest that music performed better than VR and AV . However the limited number of studies and variation in anxiety scales, musical and visual interventions used means that the findings should be interpreted cautiously.
[read the full story...]
This review to determine whether root canal treatment causes greater stress than other dental treatments, especially extractions, in patients and providers of dental treatment included 23 studies. The findings suggest that root canal treatment was more psychologically stressful for patients than routine restorative or cleaning procedures however a majority of the included studies (52%) were at high risk of bias.
[read the full story...]
This review of virtual reality (VR) distraction interventions in alleviating dental anxiety in paediatric patients included 12 RCTs. The findings suggest VR could be an effective approach to alleviating dental anxiety in paediatric patients.
[read the full story...]
In this blog we look at a RCT investigating the effect of a smartphone App on dental anxiety, communication, cooperation, and satisfaction among Brazilian adolescent patients. The findings show a reduction in anxiety from 22.8% to 6.5% in the test group compared with a reduction form 20.7% to 18.8% in the control group.
[read the full story...]
In this blog Rebecca Manson considers a systematic review assessing whether the use of animal-assisted therapy helps reduce anxiety during dental care in children and adolescents.
[read the full story...]
This review of current management strategies for adult patients with dental anxiety in the dental clinic included 54 studies. Most of the psychotherapeutic behavioural strategies provided some benefits but there was limited supporting evidence for some approaches. Pharmocological approaches were not included.
[read the full story...]
This review of the effectiveness of behaviour management and modification strategies for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to overcome the anxiety and discomfort associated with receiving dental care includes 15 studies. The findings are inconclusive as the included studies had small sample sizes, several lacked control groups and the majority of studies were at high risk of bias.
[read the full story...]
This review of the prevalence of dental neglect and risk factors in children and adolescents included 10 observational studies. A high prevalence of dental neglect (range 10% to 83%) and caries ( range 38.9% to 99% )was identified.
[read the full story...]
This review of whether parents’ presence in the room influences children’s behaviour, anxiety and fear during dental treatment included 16 studies. The findings suggest that parents’ presence in the operation room does not influence children’s (up to 12 years old) behaviour, anxiety and fear during dental treatment. However the included studies are all at high risk of bias so the certainty of the evidence is very low.
[read the full story...]
This review aiming to estimate the global prevalence of dental fear in adults included 31 observational studies the majority of which were at high risk of bias. The findings suggest an overal prevalence of 15.3 % (95%CI; 10.23 to 21.15%).
[read the full story...]
