The Effect of Psychological Interventions on Patients with Dental Anxiety

Objectives: Dental anxiety is commonly experienced by high proportion of population and is linked to avoidance of dental treatment. The aims of this study were to determine the prevalence of dental anxiety among patients attending Oral Health Centre (International Medical University, Malaysia) and to determine the effects of different combinations of psychological interventions on patients with dental anxiety.  Methods: A pre-, post- and follow-up test design was adopted in this study. Dental Anxiety Score–Revised (DAS-R) questionnaires were distributed to 127 patients attending Oral Health Centre. More than half the patients (56.7%) were found to be suffering from dental anxiety. 45 of them were randomly assigned into experimental group A (n=15), experimental group B (n=15), and control group (n=15). Different combinations of psychological interventions were provided for experimental group A (psychological education, Jacobson’s progressive muscular relaxation, and music distraction), and experimental group B (psychological education, brief relaxation, and modeling technique) whereas control group received dental treatment as usual without psychological intervention. Post assessments were conducted for all groups at the end of their dental treatments, and the follow-up assessments were conducted after one week. Results: Both experimental groups resulted in significant reduction of dental anxiety (Group A: mean reduction=3.4 (SD=2.3), Group B: mean reduction=4.1 (SD=2.1), p<0.05), with no significant difference between the groups. Patients in the control group did not exhibit significant change in their anxiety level (mean reduction=1.2 (SD=2.8), p>0.05). One-week follow-up assessments confirmed long-term reduction in anxiety in both experimental groups.  Conclusion: The prevalence of dental anxiety among patients attending Oral Health Centre was high; however, administration of combined psychological treatments proved effective in reducing dental anxiety levels.