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Forbes M D L, Boyle C A et al. Community Dent Oral Epidemiol 2012; 40: 1–7

In this study, 120 participants who had a history of extreme dental fear (Modified Dental Anxiety Scale >19) were asked among other questions, to displace their experiences and aspirations for future dental treatment, to another but fictitious person who was also a dental phobic. The vignette described a man named John, who was a primary school teacher and played football regularly. He avoided going to the dentist for the past ten years but eventually plucks up the courage to attend. The participants thought psychological support would be of little help to John, as ten of them had received such therapy but only one found it helpful. Nevertheless, they were not uncomfortable with this approach. They also considered that if intravenous sedation had previously been used, dental phobia would be difficult to overcome.