Dog-Assisted Therapy in Dentistry

NCT ID: NCT03324347

Last Updated: 2019-07-31

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 16 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2017-10-31
• Study Completion Date: 2019-06-05

Brief Summary

Dog-assisted therapy (DAT) is used in several contexts within various areas of health care. One documented effect is that the proximity of a dog may lower anxiety in perceived stressful situations. Many individuals are afraid to visit the dentist, and someone to the extent that they need medication or anesthesia in order to complete their dental treatment. Based on the literature and own empirical observations, the investigators believe that dog-assisted therapy in connection with dental care may have a positive effect on children with dental anxiety or children that avoid dental care. It is desirable to restrict the use of drugs for these patients because of associated risk and side effects.

The purpose of this pilot study is to evaluate whether using a specially trained therapy dog can have a positive effect on children who are afraid in a dental care setting. Eligible participants (n=16) will meet twice at the dental clinic; one treatment session with a therapy dog in the dental clinic and one without. The therapy dog will be accompanied by a certified dog handler. The investigators will measure physiological variations before, during and after the treatment session. The guardian will complete validated questionnaires portraying the participant's experience of previous dental care. The participant and their guardian will also complete validated questionnaires describing their reactions from the two treatment sessions. A descriptive log for each session will be completed by the investigators.

Conditions

Dental Anxiety; Pediatric Dentistry; Animal Assisted Therapy

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: CROSSOVER
• Primary Study Purpose: TREATMENT
• Blinding Strategy: SINGLE

Study Groups

Therapydog

A certified therapydog (together with a certified dog-handler) will be present in the dental clinic while the child will undergo a clinical dental examination by licenced pediatric dentist.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Therapydog

Intervention Type: PROCEDURE

Presence of a therapydog during a clinical examination in a dental clinic

No therapydog

No therapydog will be present in the dental clinic while the child will undergo a clinical dental examination by licenced pediatric dentist.

Group Type: NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Interventions

Therapydog

Presence of a therapydog during a clinical examination in a dental clinic

Intervention Type: PROCEDURE

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Children who are afraid of visiting the dental office / children who avoid dental treatment,
• Children who accept the presence of a dog,
• Parents or guardians who accept the presence of a dog

Exclusion Criteria

• Children or parent/guardian that are afraid of dogs,
• Children or parent/guardian with known dog allergy,
• Children who are immunocompromised,
• Children who cannot understand or complete the patient-questionnaire

• Minimum Eligible Age: 6 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 12 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

University of Tromso

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Responsibility Role: SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

Anne M Gussgard, DDS,MSc,PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Department of Clinical Dentistry, UiT The Arctic University of Norway

Locations

Department of Clinical Dentistry, UiT The Arctic University of Norway

Tromsø, , Norway

Countries

Norway

Other Identifiers

2017/1078 (REK)

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id