Dental Anxiety Program

Coping With Care How to Access the Program Publications Contact Us

Coping With Care: Dental Anxiety Solutions

Nervousness about an upcoming dental appointment is a common experience for people all over the world. Some may feel so anxious that they reschedule upcoming appointments many times or avoid dental appointments altogether.

Avoiding routine dental care may lead to more expensive and invasive dental work in the future. However, knowing this does not change the fact that going to the dentist can be an uncomfortable, daunting experience.

To combat this problem, researchers at Temple University’s School of Dentistry and Department of Psychology partnered together to create an online program that helps patients manage their dental anxiety. Using the principles of cognitive behavioral therapy, the program guides the viewer through an hour-long video that exposes them to procedures they rank as their most feared. Along the way, the program teaches coping skills and other useful strategies for reducing negative feelings during a dental appointment.

At the beginning of the program, patients are given the option to rank their top three most feared procedures.

The intervention provides patients with information about the procedures they have chosen.

After learning information about a chosen procedure, the patient watches as someone undergoing that same procedure learns how to change their anxious thoughts to coping thoughts. This is known as Cognitive Restructuring.

Using a form of anxiety treatment called Exposure, the Dental Anxiety Program shows patients how a procedure might look from their own perspective

Because the program is helpful to patients, researchers wanted to ensure that it was accessible to everyone. Read on for instructions about how to watch the online program:

How to Access the Program as a:

Patient

Institution

General Practitioner

At the end of the study, researchers found a meaningful, lasting reduction in participant dental anxiety. More details about these findings can be found in the list of publications below:.

Resources

Publications

Potter C, Kinner DG, Jensen D, Kaplan S, Waldron L, Myers V S, Tellez M, Myers-Virtue S, Heimberg R. G, Ismail, A. I Understanding and Treating Dental Anxiety: Dentists and Psychologists Join Forces at Temple University. Clinical Psychologist 2016 69(2):6-17
Link to Publication

Tellez M, Potter C, Kinner DG, Jensen D, Waldron L, Myers V S, Heimberg R. G, Ismail, A. I. A Computer Administered Tool to Manage Dental Anxiety: A Randomized Clinical Trial. J Dent Res. 2015 Sep;94(9 Suppl):174S-80S.
Link to Publication

Potter C, Kinner D, Tellez M, Ismail AI, Heimberg R. Single-Session Computerized Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Dental Anxiety: A Case Series. Clinical Case Studies 2016;15(1):3-17.
Link to Publication

Tellez M, Kinner D, Heimberg R, Lim S, Ismail AI. Prevalence and Correlates of Dental Anxiety in Patients Seeking Dental Care. Community Dent Oral Epidemiol. 2015 Apr;43(2):135-42. doi: 10.1111/cdoe.12132. Epub 2014 Oct 24.
Link to Publication

Gordon D, Heimberg R, Tellez M, Ismail AI. A Critical Review of Approaches to the Treatment of Dental Anxiety in Adults. J of Anxiety Disorders 2013; 27:365-378.
Link to Publication

Abstracts, Posters at Professional Conferences

Tellez M, Dunne E, Konneker E, Singh D, Ismail AI, Zhao H. Efficacy of an online intervention for dental anxiety. IADR New Orleans 2024 ID# 1295

Okoye D, Konneker E, Dunne E, Tellez M, Ismail AI, Zhao H. Correlation of dental anxiety and psychological constructs among adults. IADR New Orleans 2024 ID# 2269

Konneker E, Singh D, Ismail AI, Tellez M, Dunne E. Effects of origins of dental anxiety on anxiety severity. IADR New Orleans 2024 ID# 2272

Dunne E, Konneker E, Singh D, Zhao H, Ismail AI, Tellez M. Moderating effect of pain sensitivity on changes in dental anxiety. IADR New Orleans 2024 ID# 2273

Tellez M, Dunne E, Konneker L, Myers V. Prevalence of Dental Anxiety and Dental Phobia and Associated Psychological Constructs in a Sample of Patients Attending Dental Treatment at Temple University Kornberg School of Dentistry (TUKSoD). IADOCR Bogota, Colombia 2023.

Tellez M, Myers Virtue S, Kaplan S, Waldron, E.M., Potter, C. M, Heimberg, R. G, Ismail A.I. Feasibility and Acceptability of an Internet-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. IADR San Francisco, CA 2017.

Tellez M, Potter C, Kinner D. G., Jensen D, Waldron L, Heimberg R. G, Ismail, A. I. Efficacy of a Computer Administered Tool to Manage Dental Anxiety. IADR, Boston, MA, USA 2015.

Potter, C. M., Jensen, D., Kinner, D. G., Tellez, M., Ismail, A. I., & Heimberg, R. G. Feasibility and acceptability of a computerized cognitive behavioral therapy intervention for dental anxiety: An open pilot trial. ABCT Anxiety Disorders, Philadelphia, PA, USA 2014.

Tellez M, Gordon D, Heimberg R, Ismail AI, Kaur S. Dental Anxiety, Dental Phobia and Avoidance among Adults Seeking Care. IADR Seattle, WA, USA 2013.

Potter, C. M., Gordon, D., Heimberg, R. G., Tellez, M., Ismail, A. Panic symptoms within dental anxiety: Implications for treatment. Association for Psychological Science APS, 2013 Washington, D.C, USA.

Gordon D, Tellez M, Heimberg R, Ismail AI, Kaur S. Dental Anxiety, Dental Phobia, and Avoidance: Prevalence and Psychological Correlates among Adults Seeking Dental Care. ABCT Anxiety Disorders SIG Poster Expo 2012 Philadelphia, PA, USA.

Published Articles in the News

A promising tool or overcoming dental anxiety. Health Affairs. April 2023 42:4 https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/10.1377/hlthaff.2022.01626

Hate going to the dentist? Temple researchers are tackling dental phobia (October 2018) Philly.com: http://www2.philly.com/philly/health/dental-anxiety-phobia-dentist-temple-uinversity-20181001.html

Temple lands 2.6 million grant to reduce dental anxiety (October 2018) Philly Voice: https://www.phillyvoice.com/temple-lands-26-million-grant-reduce-dental-anxiety/

Contact Us

For help getting started, please contact dentalanxiety@temple.edu.

You may also contact Drs. Marisol Tellez-Merchan and Eugene Dunne if you would like more information about how this research was conducted.

Kornberg School of Dentistry
Center for Public Health and Behavioral Science Research
Professor and Director
Department of Oral Health Sciences
Chair
Dental Public Health
Graduate Program Director

Marisol Tellez

Phone

215-707-1773

Kornberg School of Dentistry
Department of Oral Health Sciences
Assistant Professor

Eugene M. Dunne

Funding to test whether this program was effective was provided by the Pennsylvania Department of Health (1R34DE024744-01) and the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (5U01DE027328-03).

Kornberg School of
Dentistry

Dental Anxiety Program

Contents

Coping With Care: Dental Anxiety Solutions

How to Access the Program as a:

Resources

Contact Us

Marisol Tellez

Kornberg School of Dentistry

Center for Public Health and Behavioral Science Research

Professor and Director

Department of Oral Health Sciences

Chair

Dental Public Health

Graduate Program Director

Eugene M. Dunne

Kornberg School of Dentistry

Department of Oral Health Sciences

Assistant Professor

Go back to Patient Care More in Patient Care

Kornberg School ofDentistry

Contents

Coping With Care: Dental Anxiety Solutions

How to Access the Program as a:

Resources

Contact Us

Marisol Tellez

Kornberg School of Dentistry

Center for Public Health and Behavioral Science Research

Professor and Director

Department of Oral Health Sciences

Chair

Dental Public Health

Graduate Program Director

Eugene M. Dunne

Kornberg School of Dentistry

Department of Oral Health Sciences

Assistant Professor

Go back to Patient CareMore in Patient Care

Kornberg School of
Dentistry

Go back to Patient Care More in Patient Care