Smartphone-Based Exposure Treatment for Dental Anxiety

NCT03461016 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: 1506718933
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 37
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Exposure therapy, including its self-directed forms, is effective for treatment of specific phobias. Nevertheless, there are issues with patient adherence in the use of exposure therapy, including its self-directed formats. Technological advancements, as with smartphones, may improve adherence to self-directed exposure therapy, perhaps due to exposure stimuli being more readily accessible. Thus, there is a need to examine how presenting phobic material on a smartphone might promote increased adherence in conducting self-directed exposure. Additionally, exposure can incorporate phobic material from different perspectives (i.e., first-person or third-person), which is one factor that may impact treatment effectiveness. Participants will be randomly assigned to a treatment or control condition, and complete a pre-assessment and then a post-assessment two weeks later. The assessment consists of a multimodal approach (e.g., self-report, physiological response, and overt behavior). Participants in the treatment condition will be instructed to watch a standard exposure video of a dental examination and prophylaxis three times daily for two weeks. One week of videos was shown in a first-person perspective and the same video will be shown in a third-person perspective for one week. The study can demonstrate the potential utility of smartphone-based self-directed exposure therapy for specific phobia.

Conditions

Phobic Disorders; Dental Anxiety; Treatment Outcome

Keywords

Smartphones; Exposure Therapy; Dental Anxiety

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Change in Dental Fear Survey (scale 20-item)

  Participant self-report of dental care-related fear and anxiety, range of 20-100

  Change from Baseline to 14 days

Secondary Outcomes (2)

• Change in Subjective Units of Distress (scale 1-item)

  Change from Baseline to 14 days

• Acceptability (scale 8-item)

  14 days

Other Outcomes (1)

• Change in Behavioral Avoidance Task behavior

  Change from Baseline to 14 days

Study Arms (2)

Smartphone-Based Exposure Therapy

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants assigned to the Smartphone-Based Exposure Therapy group will receive two weeks of exposure therapy via their smartphone. Participants will have the opportunity to receive up to 50 minutes of exposure video intervention daily for the two weeks.

Behavioral: Exposure Therapy

Waitlist Control

NO INTERVENTION

Participants who have been randomly assigned to participate in the Waitlist Control group will not receive treatment; however, after the two weeks of no intervention, participants in this condition will be offered the same treatment as the treatment condition.

Interventions

Exposure Therapy BEHAVIORAL

"Exposure therapy is a form of behavior therapy that is widely used to treat anxiety disorders, including specific phobia. It involves systematic and repeated confrontation with a feared stimulus. It works by (a) implosive therapy, habituation, in which repeated exposure reduces anxiety over time by a process of extinction; (b) disconfirming fearful predictions; and (c) increasing feelings of self-efficacy and mastery. In vivo exposure \[is\] a type of exposure therapy, generally used for treating individuals with phobias, obsessive compulsive disorder, and other anxiety disorders, in which the client directly experiences anxiety-provoking situations or stimuli in real-world conditions." (VandenBos, 2015)

Smartphone-Based Exposure Therapy

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• fluency in the English language
• being 18 years of age or older
• own or have access to a smartphone
• have an e-mail account

You may not qualify if:

• Reporting a low level of discomfort with dental-related care (i.e., less than a rating of "somewhat" on a single-item dental fear question)

Sponsors & Collaborators

• West Virginia University: lead

Study Sites (1)

West Virginia University

Morgantown, West Virginia, 26505, United States

Location

Related Publications (1)

• VandenBos, G. R. (Ed.) (2015). APA dictionary of psychology. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

  BACKGROUND

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Phobic Disorders

Interventions

Implosive Therapy

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Anxiety Disorders; Mental Disorders

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Desensitization, Psychologic; Behavior Therapy; Psychotherapy; Behavioral Disciplines and Activities

Study Officials

• Daneil W McNeil, PhD

  West Virginia University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Professor

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: February 16, 2018
• First Posted: March 9, 2018
• Study Start: April 1, 2016
• Primary Completion: December 31, 2018
• Study Completion: December 31, 2018
• Last Updated: May 26, 2020

Record last verified: 2020-05

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (1)