Dental Phobia
Conditions
Brief summary
Evaluation of a one session VR - enhanced Video exposure therapy for dental phobia. Diagnosed dental phobics will be randomly assigned to one of two conditions: (1) Psychoeducation + VR exposure (2) Psychoeducation + Video Control treatment. Prior to getting the therapy, participants will be evaluated with a questionnaire battery, diagnosed with a structured clinical interview and will participate in a psychophysiological symptom assessment. Then, after a 2-week waiting period, participants again fill in questionnaires, and the Intervention will take place. Within 2-weeks after the second questionnaire assessment participants will be screened with the structured interview again and will fill in questionnaires.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALBehavior Therapy
Virtual Reality and Video based Exposure Therapy
OTHERHealth Education
Video based health education covering common myths and false believes about dental surgeries
Sponsors
Ruhr University of Bochum (Dr. Andre Wannemüller)
Zahnklinik Bochum, Augusta Hospital (Prof. Dr. Peter Jöhren)
Ruhr University of Bochum (Prof. Dr. Jürgen Margraf)
Ruhr University of Bochum
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
\- diagnosed Specific Dental Phobia
Exclusion criteria
* Schizophrenia or other Psychotic Illnesses * Bipolar Disorder * Chronic Headache * other neurological disorders such as epilepsy * Hearing problems
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change in Subjective Dental Anxiety | 4 month | Assessed at time 0 (at inclusion) 1 (pre therapy, two weeks after inclusion), 2(post therapy, 2 weeks after time 1) and at follow up (4 month after time 0) with Dental Anxiety Scale (DAS, 4-item scale, range 4-20) |
| Change in Dysfunctional Dental Cognitions | 4 months | Assessed with Dental Cognition Questionnaire (DCQ, 38 dichotomous items, range 0-38) Assessed at time 0 (at inclusion), time 1 (pre therapy, two weeks after time 0), time 2 (post therapy, 2 weeks after time 1) and at follow up (4 month after time 0) |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change in Psychophysiological defensive reactivity | 4 weeks | Participants will take part in a passive Picture viewing paradigm. They will be exposed to dental anxiety related Pictures, generally negative pictures, neutral, and positive pictures. Outcome measures will be withdrawal-related motor responding (assessed with the startle-reflex), as well as heart frequency change towards the pictures, The task will be applied at inclusion (time 0) and post therapy (4 weeks after inclusion) |
Other
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change in dental avoidance behavior | within three month after the therapy took place | Each participant will be asked to arrange an appointment in a cooperating dental Hospital. It will be assessed (1) if participant makes a - (2) and attends to - first appointment (3) if participant tolerates oral inspection and dental treatment (4) how many further appointments will be made |
Contacts
Primary ContactDirk Adolph, Dr.
Backup ContactAndre Wannemueller, Dr.
Outcome results
None listed