NCT06057090

Do Therapy Dogs Improve Behavior and Reduce Anxiety in Pediatric Dental Patients?

Do Certified Therapy Dogs Improve Behavior and Reduce Anxiety in Children Who Receive Administration of a Local Anesthetic for Dental Procedures? A Randomized Controlled Trial

• Status: Enrolling By Invitation
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 70 (estimated)
• Sponsor: Medical University of South Carolina · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 3 Years – 7 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to assess whether the presence of a certified therapy dog during dental procedures that require an injection reduces anxiety and improves behavior in pediatric dental patients. The main questions it aims to answer are: * Does the presence of a certified therapy dog during dental procedure requiring an injection reduce anxiety and improve behavior in pediatric dental patients? * How do the parents of pediatric dental patients who participate in the study view the use of a certified therapy dog in their child's treatment? * Does the presence of a certified therapy dog result in different concentrations of microbes in the treatment room? All participants will receive standard of care. Researchers will compare the group with a therapy dog present to a group who does not have a therapy dog present to see if heart rate, oxygen saturation, percentage of nitrous oxide administered, and Frankl scores differ between the groups.

Conditions

• Therapy Animals
• Dental Anxiety
• Child Behavior
• Anesthesia, Local

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Therapy Dog	Certified, volunteer therapy dogs and their handlers will be present in the room during procedures in the experimental arm to see if their presence reduces anxiety and improves behavior in pediatric dental patients.

Timeline

• Start date: 2023-09-13
• Primary completion: 2026-03-31
• Completion: 2026-06-01
• First posted: 2023-09-28
• Last updated: 2026-01-12

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States