Dog-Assisted Therapy in Dentistry

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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Dog-assisted therapy (DAT) is used in several contexts within various areas of health care. One documented effect is that the proximity of a dog may lower anxiety in perceived stressful situations. Many individuals are afraid to visit the dentist, and someone to the extent that they need medication or anesthesia in order to complete their dental treatment. Based on the literature and own empirical observations, the investigators believe that dog-assisted therapy in connection with dental care may have a positive effect on children with dental anxiety or children that avoid dental care. It is desirable to restrict the use of drugs for these patients because of associated risk and side effects. The purpose of this pilot study is to evaluate whether using a specially trained therapy dog can have a positive effect on children who are afraid in a dental care setting. Eligible participants (n=16) will meet twice at the dental clinic; one treatment session with a therapy dog in the dental clinic and one without. The therapy dog will be accompanied by a certified dog handler. The investigators will measure physiological variations before, during and after the treatment session. The guardian will complete validated questionnaires portraying the participant's experience of previous dental care. The participant and their guardian will also complete validated questionnaires describing their reactions from the two treatment sessions. A descriptive log for each session will be completed by the investigators.

Official Title
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Dog-Assisted Therapy in Dental Care Settings

Conditions
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Dental Anxiety, Pediatric Dentistry, Animal Assisted Therapy

Intervention / Treatment
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* Procedure: Therapydog


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Children who are afraid of visiting the dental office / children who avoid dental treatment, Children who accept the presence of a dog, Parents or guardians who accept the presence of a dog Exclusion Criteria: Children or parent/guardian that are afraid of dogs, Children or parent/guardian with known dog allergy, Children who are immunocompromised, Children who cannot understand or complete the patient-questionnaire

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 6 Years
Maximum Age: 12 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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No

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Treatment
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Crossover Assignment
Masking: Single


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: Therapydog<br>A certified therapydog (together with a certified dog-handler) will be present in the dental clinic while the child will undergo a clinical dental examination by licenced pediatric dentist. | Procedure: Therapydog<br>* Presence of a therapydog during a clinical examination in a dental clinic<br>|
| No Intervention: No therapydog<br>No therapydog will be present in the dental clinic while the child will undergo a clinical dental examination by licenced pediatric dentist. | |

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Examination achieved; Yes or No | Whether the child complied or not, so that a clinical oral examination could be accomplished within 30 minutes | up to 8 weeks | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Child satisfaction | The child will describe his/her feelings by marking one of 6 different emoticon-style facial expressions where number 1 illustrate the most happy face and number 6 illustrates not happy at all. | up to 8 weeks | 
| Measurement of anxiety through the CFSS-DS scale (Dental subscale of Children's Fear Survey Schedule) | The parent/guardian will describe the child's dental fear on a five point scale where 1 is no fear and 5 is the worst fear. | up to 8 weeks | 
| Salivary cortisol level | Measurement of cortisol from participant's saliva sample to assess if dog-assisted therapy (DAT) minimizes stress and anxiety | up to 8 weeks | 
| Heart rate variability | Heart rate will be measured to assess if dog-assisted therapy (DAT) minimizes stress and anxiety. (Biopac Systems software) | up to 8 weeks | 
| Skin conductance (Electrodermal activity) | Skin conductance will be measured to assess if dog-assisted therapy (DAT) minimizes stress and anxiety. (Biopac Systems software) | up to 8 weeks | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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Dental Care, Animal-Assisted Intervention, Dog-Assisted Intervention, Questionnaire, Pilot Project, Dental Clinic