Oral health and oral treatment needs in patients fulfilling the DSM-IV criteria for dental phobia: possible influence on the outcome of cognitive behavioral therapy

A selection of abstracts of clinically relevant papers from other journals. The abstracts on this page have been chosen and edited by John R. Radford.

Abstract

Less favourable outcomes for dental phobics with high treatment need.

Main

Agdal ML, Raadal M et al. Acta Odontol Scand 2008; 66: 1–6

There is little robust data on the oral health of patients with a formal diagnosis of dental phobia and no studies as to the outcome of the management of such anxiety. The aim of this study therefore, was 1) to determine the oral health in a group of patients with dental phobia and 2) to report changes in self-reported anxiety following the use of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), before and after dental treatment.

Despite the limitations of carrying out accurate oral diagnosis on such patients, not unexpectedly, their oral health is worse than that of the general population. With respect to the efficacy of CBT, patients with an initially large treatment need experienced less positive outcomes and felt more anxiety 1 year after treatment than those with minor treatment need.