Effectiveness of a smartphone application on dental anxiety in adolescents: A randomized controlled trial.

Autor: Mayer TMAS; Department of Pediatric Dentistry, University of Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil., Maior GBS; Department of Pediatric Dentistry, University of Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil., da Costa NP; Graduate Program in Hebiatrics, University of Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil., do Nascimento MG; Department of Pediatric Dentistry, University of Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil., Colares V; Department of Pediatric Dentistry, University of Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil.; Graduate Program in Hebiatrics, University of Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil.; Department of Clinical and Preventive Dentistry, Federal University of Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: International journal of paediatric dentistry [Int J Paediatr Dent] 2023 Jul; Vol. 33 (4), pp. 409-417. Date of Electronic Publication: 2023 Mar 13.
DOI: 10.1111/ipd.13064
Abstrakt: Background: Dental anxiety is a common issue among adolescents. Despite the use of smartphones being an important part of their daily lives, only a few digital-based interventions for dental anxiety have been tested in randomized controlled trials (RCT).
Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate a new smartphone application (App) named FALE, which was designed to demonstrate interest from the dentist to adolescent and to reduce dental anxiety.
Design: This is a RCT in which 184 adolescents aged 10-19 years were randomly allocated into the intervention group (IG) or the control group (CG). The intervention was applied in the waiting room before the consultation at a dental clinic. The IG answered the FALE, which contained 14 questions-of which the first and last questions addressed anxiety, whereas the CG answered the question about anxiety twice with an interval between them.
Results: There was a significant difference in the distribution of anxiety rating frequencies before and after the intervention period in both groups. For the IG, there was a reduction in anxiety after the intervention of 16.29%, and, in the CG, a reduction of 2.2% (p < .001).
Conclusion: The FALE App effectively reduced dental anxiety before the appointment.
(© 2023 BSPD, IAPD and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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