Effects of explanation of treatment procedures on dental fear.

Dental fear has been described as anticipation anxiety. This study examined the effectiveness of providing pertinent details of treatment procedures to reduce the level of dental fear for dental checkups, prophylaxis, restoration and extraction in 306 fearful patients. Measurements of pre-treatment and post-treatment levels of fear showed a significant reduction in dental fear in all four procedures. Results showed that a better understanding of treatment processes reduced levels of dental fear in fearful patients.