A Stepped Care Approach to Treating Dental Fear

NCT ID: NCT06024395

Last Updated: 2025-06-13

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

RECRUITING

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

1250 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2023-09-11

Study Completion Date

2028-06-30

Brief Summary

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The purpose of this study is to compare an intervention for dental fear to the usual approach (i.e., whatever participants' dentist typically does to help participants manage their fear). The dental fear intervention has 2 separate steps. Step 1 (the less intensive or 'light touch' intervention step) involves using a mobile application (app). Step 2 consists of a one-hour telehealth session with a mental health provider tailored to individualized dental fear.

This is a randomized study. The time spent participating in the study will depend on which study condition(s) participants are randomly assigned to. Because this study compares the dental fear intervention to the standard approach, 25% of participants will not get the intervention during the study period. These participants (called controls) will be offered the opportunity to provide feedback about their experiences with dentists. Participants will be offered the intervention free of charge at the conclusion of the study.

For each step of the intervention (Dental FearLess app or one-on-one session) relative to treatment as usual, the investigators hypothesize that participants will show greater declines in self-reported dental fear and improved oral health-related quality of life at post-treatment and follow-up period. De-identified attendance records will be collected from dental practices.

Detailed Description

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Conditions

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Dental Fear

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

SEQUENTIAL

Primary Study Purpose

TREATMENT

Blinding Strategy

SINGLE

Outcome Assessors

Study Groups

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Dental FearLess App

Dental FearLess app is an e-health intervention that includes psychoeducation about anxiety; affective, cognitive, and behavioral strategies for coping at the dentist.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Dental FearLess

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Dental FearLess is a self-administered CBT-based mobile app that takes approximately 1 hour to complete.

Treatment as Usual

Group Type NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Interventions

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Dental FearLess

Dental FearLess is a self-administered CBT-based mobile app that takes approximately 1 hour to complete.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* Provide signed and dated informed consent/ assent form
* Willing to comply with all study procedures and be available for the duration of the study
* Be least 13 years old.
* Score 4 or above on the Gatchel single-item dental fear rating scale
* Willingness to allow access to dental attendance records
* Access to a smartphone or tablet
Minimum Eligible Age

13 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

99 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sponsors

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University of Pennsylvania

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

New York University

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Responsibility Role SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

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Richard Heyman, Ph.D

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

New York University

Mark Wolff, DDS

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

University of Pennsylvania

Locations

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New York University

New York, New York, United States

Site Status RECRUITING

Countries

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United States

Central Contacts

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Kelly Daly, PhD

Role: CONTACT

914-806-5093

Other Identifiers

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23-042-E

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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