Kumar Raghav Gujjar1, Arjen van Wijk2, Ratika Kumar3, Ad de Jongh4. 1. Faculty of Dentistry, SEGi University, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia; Academic Centre for Dentistry Amsterdam (ACTA), University of Amsterdam and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Electronic address: kumarraghav@segi.edu.my. 2. Academic Centre for Dentistry Amsterdam (ACTA), University of Amsterdam and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands. 3. School of Public Health, The University of Queensland, Public Health Building, Brisbane, Australia. 4. Academic Centre for Dentistry Amsterdam (ACTA), University of Amsterdam and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands; School of Psychology, Queen's University, Belfast, Northern Ireland; Institute of Health and Society, University of Worcester, United Kingdom.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Although Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy (VRET) has proven to be effective in the treatment of various subtypes of specific phobia, there is limited evidence of its role in the treatment of dental phobia. METHOD: A single-blind RCT was conducted among 30 randomized patients with dental phobia to either VRET or informational pamphlet (IP) condition. Primary outcome anxiety measures (VAS-A, MDAS and DFS) were evaluated at baseline, pre- and post-intervention, 1-week, 3-months and 6-months follow-up. Secondary outcome measures assessed were pre-post behavioral avoidance, temporal variations of heart rate and VR-experience during and post-VRET, and dental treatment acceptance in both conditions at 6-month follow-up. RESULTS: Intention to treat analysis, using a repeated measures MANOVA, revealed a multivariate interaction effect between time and condition (p = 0.015) for all primary outcome measures (all ps < 0.001). Only patients of the VRET condition showed a significant reduction in anxiety scores (mean reduction [s.d.]: VAS-A 44.4 [36.1]; MDAS 7.1 [5.4]; DFS 21.2 [13.1]) whereas the patients in the IP group did not (mean reduction [s.d.]: VAS-A -0.33 [7.7]; MDAS -0.33 [1.3]; DFS -1.9 [3.8]), F (15, 14) = 3.3, p = 0.015. CONCLUSIONS:VRET was found to be efficacious in the treatment of dental phobia.
RCT Entities:
BACKGROUND: Although Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy (VRET) has proven to be effective in the treatment of various subtypes of specific phobia, there is limited evidence of its role in the treatment of dental phobia. METHOD: A single-blind RCT was conducted among 30 randomized patients with dental phobia to either VRET or informational pamphlet (IP) condition. Primary outcome anxiety measures (VAS-A, MDAS and DFS) were evaluated at baseline, pre- and post-intervention, 1-week, 3-months and 6-months follow-up. Secondary outcome measures assessed were pre-post behavioral avoidance, temporal variations of heart rate and VR-experience during and post-VRET, and dental treatment acceptance in both conditions at 6-month follow-up. RESULTS: Intention to treat analysis, using a repeated measures MANOVA, revealed a multivariate interaction effect between time and condition (p = 0.015) for all primary outcome measures (all ps < 0.001). Only patients of the VRET condition showed a significant reduction in anxiety scores (mean reduction [s.d.]: VAS-A 44.4 [36.1]; MDAS 7.1 [5.4]; DFS 21.2 [13.1]) whereas the patients in the IP group did not (mean reduction [s.d.]: VAS-A -0.33 [7.7]; MDAS -0.33 [1.3]; DFS -1.9 [3.8]), F (15, 14) = 3.3, p = 0.015. CONCLUSIONS: VRET was found to be efficacious in the treatment of dental phobia.
Authors: Marieke Ag Martens; Angus Antley; Daniel Freeman; Mel Slater; Paul J Harrison; Elizabeth M Tunbridge Journal: J Psychopharmacol Date: 2019-07-11 Impact factor: 4.153
Authors: Nansi López-Valverde; Jorge Muriel Fernández; Antonio López-Valverde; Luis F Valero Juan; Juan Manuel Ramírez; Javier Flores Fraile; Julio Herrero Payo; Leticia A Blanco Antona; Bruno Macedo de Sousa; Manuel Bravo Journal: J Clin Med Date: 2020-04-05 Impact factor: 4.241