Dog-Assisted Therapy and Dental Anxiety: A Pilot Study
Open accessAbstract
Animal-assisted therapy aimed at improving individuals’ mental or physical health has been widely reported. However, the data on how a therapy dog could help control anxiety during dental procedures is scarce. The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of dog-assisted therapy on people with a history of dental anxiety while receiving preventive dental treatment. Twelve adults participated (women: n = 11 (91.7%) and men: n = 1 (8.3%), mean age = 31.25 years, D.E. = 5.78). The Corah Dental Anxiety Scale was applied, the patient’s mood was assessed with a Likert scale before and after receiving the dental treatment, and their blood pressure was recorded for each of the three stages of treatment. A therapy dog accompanied the participants during the dental procedure. The main results indicated that a decrease in discomfort was perceived during the intervention, and there was also an improvement in the patient’s evaluation of the experience. The results are based on the decrease in patients’ blood pressure when taken in the middle of the dental treatment.
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In a pilot study, the presence of a therapy dog during dental sessions significantly improved patients' emotional state and was associated with a notable decrease in blood pressure and neurohormone levels.
“The findings from this study indicated that the presence of a therapy dog during dental sessions significantly improved the patients' emotional state. The study observed a notable decrease in blood pressure and neurohormone levels among patients interacting with the therapy dog”
From Novel non-pharmacological strategies for managing dentophobia in adult patients - literature review (2024) · cites this paper as [15]
The Results section reports significant improvements in patients’ reported feelings about the dental visit and a significant decrease in blood pressure midway through treatment. The study did not measure neurohormone levels; the Introduction mentions those levels only in reports about therapy dogs in hospitals. Page numbers are unavailable in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.92)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredAAT sessions are significantly related to self-esteem improvements and reduced anxiety levels.
“Previous studies [15,17] showed a significant relationship between AAT sessions and self-esteem improvements and reduced anxiety levels [18,19,20].”
From Effects of dog-assisted therapy in adolescents with eating disorders: A study protocol for a pilot controlled trial (2021) · cites this paper as [19]
The Results report significant improvements in participants’ feelings and perceptions during a dog-assisted dental visit, and the Discussion interprets the findings as decreased dental anxiety. The study does not report a measure of self-esteem or an improvement in it, so only the anxiety portion of the attributed claim is supported. (LLM, conf=0.86)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredPatients in the dog-assisted therapy pilot study reported a reduction in discomfort and an overall improved experience during their dental visits.
“Patients reported a reduction in discomfort and an overall improved experience during their dental visits [15].”
From Novel non-pharmacological strategies for managing dentophobia in adult patients - literature review (2024) · cites this paper as [15]
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- Authors
- Cruz-Fierro, N., Vanegas-Farfano, M., & González-Ramírez, M. T.
- Affiliations
- School of Dentistry, Autonomous University of Nuevo León (Facultad de Odontología, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León), Nuevo León C.P. 64455, Mexico
- Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León (MX)
- School of Psychology, Autonomous University of Nuevo León (Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León), Nuevo León C.P. 64455, Mexico
- Venue
- Animals
- Publisher
- MDPI AG
- Published
- 2019-07-31
- Volume
- 9
- Issue
- 8
- Pages
- 512
- ISSN
- 2076-2615 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC6720307
- OpenAlex
- W2966866603
- Cited by
- 32
- References
- 32
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 11 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 1
- FWCI
- 2.56
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- dx.doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Animals (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- El Repositorio Academico Digital de la UANL (Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León) (acceptedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Human-Animal Interaction Studies
- Health Sciences › Dentistry › Oral Surgery › Dental Anxiety and Anesthesia Techniques
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Music Therapy and Health
- Keywords
- dog-assisted therapy, animal-assisted therapy, dental anxiety, therapy dogs, dental prophylaxis, blood pressure, patient comfort, Corah Dental Anxiety Scale, patient mood
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