A double-blind randomized clinical trial on the suggestive effect of anxiety management questionnaires in dental emergencies

Carla Irene Benz; Celina Wolanski; Martina Piefke; Guglielmo Campus; Andree Piwowarczyk; Thomas Gerhard Wolf

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1333594

A double-blind randomized clinical trial on the suggestive effect of anxiety management questionnaires in dental emergencies

Front Psychol. 2024 Feb 12:15:1333594. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1333594. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Carla Irene Benz^{1

2}, Celina Wolanski², Martina Piefke³, Guglielmo Campus^{1

4}, Andree Piwowarczyk², Thomas Gerhard Wolf^{1

5}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Restorative, Preventive and Pediatric Dentistry, School of Dental Medicine, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
² Department of Prosthodontics and Dental Technology, Faculty of Health, Witten/Herdecke University, Witten, Germany.
³ Department of Psychology and Psychotherapy, Faculty of Health, Witten/Herdecke University, Witten, Germany.
⁴ Department of Cariology, Saveetha Dental College and Hospitals, SIMATS, Chennai, India.
⁵ Department of Periodontology and Operative Dentistry, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Mainz, Germany.

Abstract

Objective: Dental anxiety is widespread among both children and adults. To diagnose dental anxiety, standardized anxiety questionnaires are recommended. Based on the suggestive nature of the questionnaires, the study aimed to find out whether asking respondents about personal coping strategies before dental treatment influences their anxiety.

Methods: This prospective, double-blind, randomized controlled clinical trial included a total of 158 patients of a university dental clinic on emergency service. The intervention group (n = 82) received the Coping with Anxiety Questionnaire (CAQ) and the control group (n = 76) the Hierarchical Anxiety Questionnaire (HAF). State anxiety scores were assessed by using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) before and after the completion of each questionnaire.

Results: Anxiety decreased in the intervention group (CAQ) (p < 0.001) and increased in the control group (HAF) (p < 0.001).

Conclusion: Within the limitations of the current study, a diagnostic tool of a standardized questionnaire for the assessment to assess personal coping strategies decreased state anxiety in comparison to a questionnaire assessing anxiety.

Clinical trial registration: https://www.drks.de, German Trials Register (DRKS00032450).

Keywords: CAQ; HAF; RCT; coping mechanisms; dental anxiety; questionnaire; suggestive effect.

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This research was supported by the German Society of Dental Hypnosis (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Zahnärztliche Hypnose, DGZH e.V., Stuttgart, Germany). The funding source was not involved in the study design, preparation and conduction of the trial, preparation, and analysis of data, nor in preparing the manuscript. CB and TW have received a grant from the DGZH for this study.