Dental Tribune Asia Pacific Edition

By DTI LONDON, UK: The latest govern- ment figures estimate that one in ten people in the UK suffer from dentalanxiety.Newresearchfrom King’s College London involving pre-treatment use of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) has shown that the method is largely effective in helping patients over- come their fear of treatment. In a study involving patients suffering from high levels of den- tal phobia, the researchers found that the overall majority were able to undergo treatment with- out sedation after having under- gone therapy at the Dental Insti- tute Health Psychology Service at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foun- dation Trust. Only six per cent of the patients surveyed had to be treated with sedation. “Our study shows that after on average five CBT sessions, most people can go on to be treated by the dentist without the need to be sedated,” said Tim Newton, lead author and Professor of Psychol- ogy as Applied to Dentistry. A short-term therap, CBT has been shown to help with depres- sion and a number of anxiety- related disorders, such as obses- sive–compulsive disorder and bulimia. Typically, over six to ten sessions, a therapist aims to help patientschangetheirfeelingsand behaviours by restructuring their thinking and breaking negative thought cycles. Accordingtotheresearchers,the most common anxiety-inducing factors in the study were iden- tified as drilling and having an injection. Newton recommended that, despitethepositiveoutcome,CBT should be viewed as comple- menting sedation services rather than as an alternative, the two together providing a comprehen- sivecarepathwayfortheultimate benefit of patients. Furthermore, patients should be carefully as- sessed by trained CBT practition- ers, since they could be suffering from additional psychological conditions. Over one-third of those pa- tients surveyed in the study showed signs of general anxiety, while one in ten had depression or suicidal thoughts. “CBTprovidesawayofreducing the need for sedation in people with a phobia, but there will still be those who need sedation because they require urgent den- tal treatment or they are having particularly invasive treatments,” Newton said. Study conﬁrms CBT to be successful in reducing dental phobia With CBT a therapist aims to help patients change their feelings and behaviours byrestructuringtheirthinkingand breaking negative thought cycles. PRINT DIGITAL EDUCATION EVENTS The DTI publishing group is composed of the world’s leading dental trade publishers that reach more than 650,000 dentists in more than 90 countries. AD Dental TribuneAsia Pacific Edition | 12/2015 WORLD NEWS 05

Dental Tribune Asia Pacific Edition

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