NCT06725134

Impact of Therapy Dogs on Child Anxiety and Behavior During Local Anesthesia for Dental Procedures

Impact of Therapy Dogs on Anxiety and Behavior of Pediatric Dental Patients During Local Anesthesia: A Randomized Controlled Trial

• Status: Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 25 (estimated)
• Sponsor: University of Michigan · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 4 Years – 12 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

Therapy dogs in dental offices might help anxious children during dental care. Therapy dogs might help children during injection of local anesthetic, when we inject numbing medication before working on the teeth. The goal of this study is to learn if having a therapy dog with a child during the injection of numbing medication helps children to be more comfortable at the dentist's office. This study is of children who need dental care using local anesthesia. Study participant's behavioral reactions and heart rate during injection of local anesthetic with and without having a therapy dog present will be recorded and children and their guardians will be asked a few short questions about the injection and therapy dog after injection.

Detailed description

Children undergoing dental restorative or surgical procedures require injection of local anesthetic. The injection procedure is often the most anxiety-producing stimulus for children during dental care, when children demonstrate the highest level of emotional distress. Several studies have investigated various interventions, such as distraction, hypnosis, and cognitive behavioral therapy to ease this stress. Animal-assisted therapy (e.g. the presence of a therapy dog) may be a promising strategy for managing anxiety in young dental patients. However, no studies have explored the potential benefits of using therapy dogs specifically during the administration of local anesthesia in pediatric dental patients. The objective of this randomized controlled trial is to investigate the effects of therapy dogs on pediatric dental patients during local anesthesia administration.

Conditions

• Situational Anxiety
• Behavior

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Therapy dog presence	A trained therapy dog will be present during the child's dental appointment. The dog will be in the operatory as the child enters the room and will lie on the child during injection of local anesthesia.
BEHAVIORAL	Standard-of-care basic behavior guidance	Basic behavior guidance as defined by the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry includes strategies to help children cope through potentially stressful dental procedures. These strategies include tell-show-do, positive reinforcement, parental presence, and nitrous oxide/oxygen analgesia, among others.

Timeline

• Start date: 2024-11-01
• Primary completion: 2026-11-01
• Completion: 2027-07-01
• First posted: 2024-12-10
• Last updated: 2025-12-03

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States