Clinical Management of Anxiety and Access to Health Care
Clinical Management of Anxiety and Access to Health Care
Dental and health anxiety are common and potentially distressing problems, for both patients
 and health care providers. Anxiety has been identified as a barrier to regular dental visits
 and as an important target for enhancement of oral health-related quality of life. possible
 groups, (1) high dental anxiety and (2) low dental anxiety. The study aimed to develop and
 evaluate a computerized cognitive-behavioral therapy dental anxiety intervention (C-CBT) that
 could be easily implemented in dental healthcare settings.

 A cognitive-behavioral protocol based on psychoeducation, exposure to feared dental
 procedures, and cognitive restructuring was developed. A randomized controlled trial was
 conducted (N=151) to test its efficacy. Consenting adult dental patients who met inclusion
 (e.g., high dental anxiety) and exclusion criteria were randomized to one of two groups, (1)
 immediate treatment (IT) (n=74) or (2) a waitlist control (WL) (n=77).
Analyses of covariance (ANCOVAs) based on intention to treat analyses were used to compare
 the two groups on dental anxiety, fear, avoidance, and overall severity of dental phobia.
 Baseline scores on these outcomes were entered into the analyses as covariates.
Inclusion Criteria:

 -  high dental anxiety

 -  fluent in spoken and written English

 Exclusion Criteria:

 -  unable to provide written, informed consent