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Dental phobia

MedGen UID:
1790464
•Concept ID:
C5551425
•
Mental or Behavioral Dysfunction
Synonyms: Dental Fear; Dental Fears; Dental Phobia; Dental Phobias; Dentophobia; Dentophobias; Fear, Dental; Odontophobia; Odontophobias; Phobia, Dental
SNOMED CT: Dental phobia (38617005)

Definition

A persistent, irrational fear of treatment, whether preventative or therapeutic, by a dentist, coupled with compulsive desire to avoid any such situation. [from NCI]

Term Hierarchy

CClinical test,  RResearch test,  OOMIM,  GGeneReviews,  VClinVar  
  • CROGVDental phobia

Professional guidelines

PubMed

Biofeedback therapy in the treatment of dental anxiety and dental phobia.
Elmore AM
Dent Clin North Am 1988 Oct;32(4):735-44. PMID: 3053267
Management of dental phobia: the use of fear-screening questionnaires.
Kroeger RF
Int J Psychosom 1986;33(1):92-5. PMID: 3514503
The management of dental phobia.
Wright FA, Lange DE
N Z Dent J 1978 Oct;74(338):210-4. PMID: 31579

Recent clinical studies

Etiology

Oral health status and dental care for individuals with visual impairment. A narrative review.
Blanco López MA, Diniz Freitas M, Limeres Posse J, Hernández-Vallejo G, López-Pintor RM
Spec Care Dentist 2023 Mar;43(2):221-231. Epub 2022 Aug 8 doi: 10.1111/scd.12764. PMID: 35941095
Dental fear and anxiety in Asian youths: response components and inducing stimuli.
Yap AU, Lee DZR
Clin Oral Investig 2022 Sep;26(9):5953-5960. Epub 2022 May 31 doi: 10.1007/s00784-022-04555-1. PMID: 35639205
Evaluation of the effectiveness of a mobile application in the management of dental anxiety: A randomised controlled trial.
Nalci G, Alaçam T, Altunkaynak B
J Oral Rehabil 2022 May;49(5):535-540. Epub 2022 Mar 6 doi: 10.1111/joor.13311. PMID: 35148428
Assessment of dental anxiety and dental phobia among adults in Lebanon.
Kassem El Hajj H, Fares Y, Abou-Abbas L
BMC Oral Health 2021 Feb 4;21(1):48. doi: 10.1186/s12903-021-01409-2. PMID: 33541354Free PMC Article
The oral health of people with anxiety and depressive disorders - a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Kisely S, Sawyer E, Siskind D, Lalloo R
J Affect Disord 2016 Aug;200:119-32. Epub 2016 Apr 21 doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2016.04.040. PMID: 27130961

Diagnosis

Qualitative Evaluation of YouTube Videos on Dental Fear, Anxiety and Phobia.
Wong NSM, Yeung AWK, McGrath CP, Leung YY
Int J Environ Res Public Health 2022 Dec 31;20(1) doi: 10.3390/ijerph20010750. PMID: 36613071Free PMC Article
Assessment of dental anxiety and dental phobia among adults in Lebanon.
Kassem El Hajj H, Fares Y, Abou-Abbas L
BMC Oral Health 2021 Feb 4;21(1):48. doi: 10.1186/s12903-021-01409-2. PMID: 33541354Free PMC Article
The oral health of people with anxiety and depressive disorders - a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Kisely S, Sawyer E, Siskind D, Lalloo R
J Affect Disord 2016 Aug;200:119-32. Epub 2016 Apr 21 doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2016.04.040. PMID: 27130961
Dental phobia... How to overcome it.
Paul S
Todays FDA 2014;26(5):16-9. PMID: 25109102
The dental-phobia test.
Meldman MJ
Psychosomatics 1972 Nov-Dec;13(6):371-2. doi: 10.1016/S0033-3182(72)71385-7. PMID: 4672003

Therapy

Interventions to reduce adult state anxiety, dental trait anxiety, and dental phobia: A systematic review and meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials.
Steenen SA, Linke F, van Westrhenen R, de Jongh A
J Anxiety Disord 2024 Jul;105:102891. Epub 2024 Jun 24 doi: 10.1016/j.janxdis.2024.102891. PMID: 38945067
Internet-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Children and Adolescents With Dental or Injection Phobia: Randomized Controlled Trial.
Schibbye R, Hedman-Lagerlöf E, Kaldo V, Dahllöf G, Shahnavaz S
J Med Internet Res 2024 Feb 21;26:e42322. doi: 10.2196/42322. PMID: 38381476Free PMC Article
Evaluation of the effectiveness of a mobile application in the management of dental anxiety: A randomised controlled trial.
Nalci G, Alaçam T, Altunkaynak B
J Oral Rehabil 2022 May;49(5):535-540. Epub 2022 Mar 6 doi: 10.1111/joor.13311. PMID: 35148428
The extent and nature of dental fear and phobia in Australia.
Armfield JM
Aust Dent J 2010 Dec;55(4):368-77. doi: 10.1111/j.1834-7819.2010.01256.x. PMID: 21174906
Individual response patterns and the effects of different behavioral methods in the treatment of dental phobia.
Jerremalm A, Jansson L, Ost LG
Behav Res Ther 1986;24(5):587-96. doi: 10.1016/0005-7967(86)90040-9. PMID: 3530240

Prognosis

Psychological Factors Determining Prognosis of Dental Treatments.
Kalladka M, Markman S, Raman KR, Mansdorf A
Dent Clin North Am 2024 Oct;68(4):739-750. Epub 2024 Jun 29 doi: 10.1016/j.cden.2024.05.006. PMID: 39244254
Study protocol of an investigation of attention and prediction error as mechanisms of action for latent inhibition of dental fear in humans.
Seligman LD, Geers AL, Kramer L, Clemens KS, Pituch KA, Colagiuri B, Marusak HA, Rabinak CA, Turner N, Nedley M
BMC Psychol 2023 Jan 25;11(1):23. doi: 10.1186/s40359-023-01054-0. PMID: 36698206Free PMC Article
Augmented and virtual reality in dental medicine: A systematic review.
Joda T, Gallucci GO, Wismeijer D, Zitzmann NU
Comput Biol Med 2019 May;108:93-100. Epub 2019 Mar 15 doi: 10.1016/j.compbiomed.2019.03.012. PMID: 31003184
Barriers and Drawbacks of the Assessment of Dental Fear, Dental Anxiety and Dental Phobia in Children: A Critical Literature Review.
Asl AN, Shokravi M, Jamali Z, Shirazi S
J Clin Pediatr Dent 2017;41(6):399-423. Epub 2017 Sep 22 doi: 10.17796/1053-4628-41.6.1. PMID: 28937891
Effectiveness of complementary and self-help treatments for anxiety disorders.
Jorm AF, Christensen H, Griffiths KM, Parslow RA, Rodgers B, Blewitt KA
Med J Aust 2004 Oct 4;181(S7):S29-46. doi: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2004.tb06352.x. PMID: 15462640

Clinical prediction guides

Dental fear and anxiety in Asian youths: response components and inducing stimuli.
Yap AU, Lee DZR
Clin Oral Investig 2022 Sep;26(9):5953-5960. Epub 2022 May 31 doi: 10.1007/s00784-022-04555-1. PMID: 35639205
Evaluation of the effectiveness of a mobile application in the management of dental anxiety: A randomised controlled trial.
Nalci G, Alaçam T, Altunkaynak B
J Oral Rehabil 2022 May;49(5):535-540. Epub 2022 Mar 6 doi: 10.1111/joor.13311. PMID: 35148428
Augmented and virtual reality in dental medicine: A systematic review.
Joda T, Gallucci GO, Wismeijer D, Zitzmann NU
Comput Biol Med 2019 May;108:93-100. Epub 2019 Mar 15 doi: 10.1016/j.compbiomed.2019.03.012. PMID: 31003184
The oral health of people with anxiety and depressive disorders - a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Kisely S, Sawyer E, Siskind D, Lalloo R
J Affect Disord 2016 Aug;200:119-32. Epub 2016 Apr 21 doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2016.04.040. PMID: 27130961
Why are people afraid of the dentist? Observations and explanations.
Beaton L, Freeman R, Humphris G
Med Princ Pract 2014;23(4):295-301. Epub 2013 Dec 20 doi: 10.1159/000357223. PMID: 24356305Free PMC Article

Recent systematic reviews

Interventions to reduce adult state anxiety, dental trait anxiety, and dental phobia: A systematic review and meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials.
Steenen SA, Linke F, van Westrhenen R, de Jongh A
J Anxiety Disord 2024 Jul;105:102891. Epub 2024 Jun 24 doi: 10.1016/j.janxdis.2024.102891. PMID: 38945067
Recognizing and differentiating dental anxiety from dental phobia in adults: a systematic review based on the German guideline "Dental anxiety in adults".
Bürklein S, Brodowski C, Fliegel E, Jöhren HP, Enkling N
Quintessence Int 2021 Mar 3;52(4):360-373. doi: 10.3290/j.qi.a45603. PMID: 33491392
Augmented and virtual reality in dental medicine: A systematic review.
Joda T, Gallucci GO, Wismeijer D, Zitzmann NU
Comput Biol Med 2019 May;108:93-100. Epub 2019 Mar 15 doi: 10.1016/j.compbiomed.2019.03.012. PMID: 31003184
The Influence of Parenting Style on Child Behavior and Dental Anxiety.
Lee DW, Kim JG, Yang YM
Pediatr Dent 2018 Sep 15;40(5):327-333. PMID: 30355427
The oral health of people with anxiety and depressive disorders - a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Kisely S, Sawyer E, Siskind D, Lalloo R
J Affect Disord 2016 Aug;200:119-32. Epub 2016 Apr 21 doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2016.04.040. PMID: 27130961

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