DT News - UK - Study confirms CBT to be successful in reducing dental phobia

Dental Tribune International

Tue. 1 December 2015

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LONDON, UK: The latest government figures estimate that one in ten people in the UK suffer from dental anxiety. New research from King’s College London involving pretreatment use of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) has shown that the method is largely effective in helping patients overcome their fear of treatment.

In a study involving patients suffering from high levels of dental phobia, the researchers found that the overall majority were able to undergo treatment without sedation after having undergone therapy at the Dental Institute Health Psychology Service at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation 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 Psychology as Applied to Dentistry.

A short-term therapy, CBT has been shown to help with depression and a number of anxiety-related disorders, such as obsessive–compulsive disorder and bulimia. Typically, over six to ten sessions, a therapist aims to help patients change their feelings and behaviours by restructuring their thinking and breaking negative thought cycles. According to the researchers, the most common anxiety-inducing factors in the study were identified as drilling and having an injection.

Newton recommended that, despite the positive outcome, CBT should be viewed as complementing sedation services rather than as an alternative, the two together providing a comprehensive care pathway for the ultimate benefit of patients. Furthermore, patients should be carefully assessed by trained CBT practitioners, since they could be suffering from additional psychological conditions.

“CBT provides a way of reducing the need for sedation in people with a phobia, but there will still be those who need sedation because they require urgent dental treatment or they are having particularly invasive treatments,” he said.

Over one-third of those patients surveyed in the study showed signs of general anxiety, while one in ten had depression or suicidal thoughts.

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