Novel Treatment for Dental Phobia Utilizing Smart Phone Technology

Objectives: Specific dental phobia is common and often un-treated. Self-directed exposure therapy, however, is available as an effective treatment for specific phobias. Various exposure stimuli are available (e.g., videos) to conduct self-directed exposure. The objectives of the study were to examine how smartphones may be harnessed to conduct self-directed exposure. Hypotheses were that the treatment would result in lower anxiety at the end of treatment, and that more exposure videos watched would result in lower anxiety.
Methods: As part of a larger study, 19 participants (M age=29.8, SD=13.2) were asked to watch an exposure video of dental procedures three times daily for two weeks. After each exposure, participants reported highest anxiety experienced during the video on a numerical rating scale from 0-100. A mean anxiety score for each day was calculated. Along with pre-post statistical comparisons, a hierarchical regression was performed to assess the relation between number of exposure videos watched and last reported anxiety level, controlling for participants’ rating of anxiety after seeing the video for the first time.
Results: On average, participants watched 28.5 (SD=16.1) videos over the two-weeks of treatment. Paired sample t-test indicated that last anxiety ratings (M=24.2, SD=21.2) were significantly lower than first anxiety ratings (M=46.7, SD=24.3), t(18)=3.78, p=.001. Regression indicated that the model accounted for 36.8% of the variance in last reported anxiety score, F(2,16)=4.65, p=.026. It was found that total exposure videos watched significantly predicted last reported anxiety score, β=-.497, p=.024. Also, first reported anxiety score was not significant in predicting last reported anxiety score, p=.158.
Conclusions: Findings suggest that smartphones can be used to present exposure stimuli and help reduce anxiety associated with specific dental phobia. Additionally, increasing amounts of exposure led to more positive treatment outcome. Thus, smartphones appear to be effective in delivering exposure stimuli for specific dental phobia.