A progressive study led by Sheffield and Sheffield University Teaching Hospitals will examine whether Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) could help reduce the high number of anxious children who are afraid of the dentist.
About one in three children is afraid to go to the dentist, leading to tooth avoidance, which leads to poor oral health, increased toothache, dental disease and tooth decay.
Now, a team of dentists and researchers led by the University of Sheffield School of Clinical Dentistry has received more than £ 1.6 million from the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) to study a new way of treating dental anxiety. CBT-based reduction.
The study, which will include 600 children from 30 dental centers and clinics across England and Wales, will examine whether specially developed, child-friendly facilities for children, parents and children’s dental professionals can help completing the dental treatment at their family center rather than being hospitalized for specialized services for sedation or general anesthetic.
Chief Inspector, Professor Zoe Marshman from the University of Sheffield School of Clinical Dentistry and Honorary Consultant in Dental Public Health at the Sheffield Teaching Hospitals Foundation Trust, said:
“Dental anxiety is very common in children, and can lead to poor oral health, increased tooth decay and extraction.
“Traditionally, children with dental confusion have been referred by high-street dentists to specialized services for sedation or general anesthetic. This procedure does nothing to stop the fear, and may to go on and spend a life avoiding the dentist. Simple and cost-effective – there is an urgent need for an effective way to help pregnant children with teeth. “
Professor Marshman and the team will explore a new approach, based on CBT principles that involves dental professionals, children and parents working together, using designed resources in particular, to help them understand why the child is anxious, giving them information and choices about the procedures they may need, to provide activities that children will find useful to help them by dealing, and to make talking to the dentist easier.
There is strong evidence to support the use of CBT, a talking center, for other types of anxiety and mental health disorders, but at present there is little research on CBT delivered specifically by dental professionals, rather than by psychologists for children with dental confusion.
The self-help CBT resources have been developed online and in hard copy for children aged nine to 16 and aim to help children provide dental information, suggest strategies to reduce anxiety, reflect on encourage and support better communication.
If our study finds that CBT facilities delivered by dental professionals are effective, children can be helped directly in high-street dental centers without the need to travel for dental treatment in hospitals. “
Zoe Marshman, Principal Investigator and Professor, School of Clinical Dentistry and Honorary Consultant, University of Sheffield
“This has the potential to help children who could spend a lifetime avoiding the dentist and avoiding potential serious oral complications. It could also bring cost savings to the NHS.”
The four-year CALM trial: the clinical and cost-effectiveness of self-help mental health therapeutic intervention to reduce dental anxiety in children, is funded by the National Institute for Health Research and the Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust will monitoring. .
The collaborative team of researchers from the universities of Sheffield, Sheffield Hallam, Cardiff, King’s College London, Leeds, Newcastle and York, is working closely with patient representatives, looking to recruit 60 dentists to take part in the study. which will start in September 2021.