Assessment of dental anxiety in children between 5 and 10 years of age in the presence of a therapy dog: a randomized controlled clinical study

• Published in: European archives of paediatric dentistry Vol. 22; no. 3; pp. 459 - 467
• Main Authors: Thakkar, T. K., Naik, S. N., Dixit, U. B.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01-06-2021; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Animal assisted therapy; Animals; Anxiety; Blood pressure; Children; Children & youth; Dentistry; Dentists; Dogs; Dopamine; Heart rate; Intervention; Medicine; Original Scientific Article; Pediatrics; Pets; Physiology; Psychotherapy; Pulse oximetry; Questionnaires; Sociodemographics; Therapy; Pet therapy; Dental phobia; Dental anxiety; Behavior; Animal-assisted therapy
• ISSN: 1818-6300; 1996-9805
• DOI: 10.1007/s40368-020-00583-1

Purpose
Children are often afraid to visit a dentist. Dental anxiety is a worldwide issue and a barrier to successful treatment outcome. Pet therapy, especially through dogs, has been demonstrated to be beneficial in reducing anxiety. In today’s generation, where dopamine is prevalent, attention is hijacked, and children are tethered to screens—this research on animal-assisted therapy outlines the impact on children undergoing simple dental procedures, and to evaluate its use in long-term behavior management, and child and parental acceptance of this technique.
Methods
One hundred and two children between five and 10 years of age and requiring simple dental procedures were selected randomly and divided into two groups. In Group A, dental treatment was carried out in the presence of a therapy dog, and in Group B (the control group), dental treatment was carried out in a regular dental setup. Anxiety levels were evaluated by pulse rate and anxiety rating scale. Prior to exiting the room, the parents were asked to rate the child’s interaction with therapy dogs.
Results
According to an independent
t
test, reduction in anxiety was highly significant (
p 
< 0.001).
Conclusion
Animal-assisted therapy is an effective behavior management strategy.