Dental Phobia
Conditions
Keywords
dental phobia, psychotherapy, eye movement desensitization and reprocessing - EMDR, efficacy, wait-list control
Brief summary
The purpose of this study is to find out whether Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is effective in the treatment of patients with dental phobia.
Detailed description
Dental phobia represents a clinical condition that affects 5-15% of the community and is characterized by severe anxiety of dental treatment which leads to avoidance of treatment and, as a consequence, severe dental as well as psychosocial problems. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) has been developed for the treatment of patients with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Its efficacy in PTSD patients has often been demonstrated in randomized controlled trials. Recently it has been demonstrated that dental phobia is often induced by traumatic events during dental treatment and goes along with symptoms of PTSD in numerous patients. A pilot study (de Jongh et al. 2002) gave hints on the efficacy of EMDR in four dental phobia patients with a history of traumatization during dental treatment. This randomized wait-list control study aims to evaluate the efficacy of EMDR in a larger sample of dental phobia patients.
Interventions
The intervention consists of three 90-minute sessions of individual psychotherapy. Sessions take place weekly according to a treatment manual.
Sponsors
University Hospital Muenster
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 75 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* dental phobia according to the World Health Organization´s International Classification of Diseases, ICD-10 (F40.2)
Exclusion criteria
* schizophrenic disorder * severe depression * severe dissociative disorder * organic brain disease * anorexia nervosa (body mass index, BMI \< 17) * suicidality * severe cardio-vascular disease * ophthalmic disease * pregnancy and lactation * psychopharmacological treatment * substance abuse
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Dental anxiety | 4 weeks | Dental anxiety is assessed by the Dental Anxiety Scale (DAS) and the Dental Fear Survey (DFS). |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| General psychopathology | 4 weeks, 3 months, 12 months | General psychopathology is assessed by the Brief Symptom Scale (BSI). |
| Anxiety and depression | 4 weeks, 3 months, 12 months | Anxiety and depression are assessed by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). |
| Behavioral test | 4 weeks | Dentral anxiety is assessed during a dental visit before and after treatment/wait-list control condition by means of a standardized behavior obeservation and interview. |
| Dental treatment | 3 months, 12 months | Does the patient tolerate dental treatment within 3 and 12 months after Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)? |
Countries
Germany
Outcome results
None listed