Parental distress and anxiety in the context of paediatric dental treatment under pharmacological behaviour management
Conditions
Interventions
Group 1: Nitrous oxide sedation (NOS): Parents of children receiving full-mouth rehabilitation under nitrous oxide sedation are approached at a prior planning appointment where possible, otherwise on
data collection begins on the treatment day. Data collection covers the entire rehabilitation trajectory (typically 3–4 sessions). Per session, data are collected on psychological (STAI), physiologica
Sponsors
Poliklinik für Kinderzahnheilkunde, Universitätsmedizin Greifswald
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Inclusion criteria
Inclusion criteria: Accompanying parent or legal guardian of a child aged 4 to 14 years scheduled for dental treatment under nitrous oxide sedation or general anaesthesia; capacity to provide written informed consent; sufficient German language proficiency to complete study questionnaires.
Exclusion criteria
Exclusion criteria: Known significant psychological disorder in the accompanying parent likely to substantially affect anxiety reporting; child with special health care needs (developmental, cognitive, or psychiatric) that substantially alter standard treatment or assessment; parent unwilling or unable to complete study questionnaires or procedures.
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| WHAT: Parental heart rate (HR) as an objective physiological indicator of distress and autonomic arousal, analysed as change from individual resting heart rate (delta-HR). WHEN: Continuously throughout the session, with primary focus on the anticipatory phase (waiting room to treatment onset) as the cross-modality comparable time window. HOW: Continuous recording using the O2Ring Wellue pulse oximeter; segmented according to the documented treatment timeline and analysed as change from individual resting heart rate (delta-HR). | — |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Parental state anxiety assessed using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI, short form). Collected on the day of treatment before the procedure (waiting room) and one week after treatment (post-measurement). Primary comparative measure: ?STAI (state relative to individual trait score). Exploratory measures: observer-rated parental behaviour (Parental Hetero-Assessment Scale, Vanhée et al. 2023) and child behaviour (Modified Venham Scale); the latter primarily in the NOS group, with potential application during the anaesthetic induction phase in the GA group. | — |
Countries
Germany
Contacts
Public ContactOsama Oun Alsoud
Poliklinik für Kinderzahnheilkunde, Universitätsmedizin Greifswald
Outcome results
None listed