Dental anxiety measures following a pre-appointment teledentistry consultation in children: a randomized clinical trial
Makaleler > Tam Makale · 2026
Yazarlar: Venus Seyedoskuyi, Asli Topaloglu, Dilşah ÇOĞULU
BMC Oral Health, Uluslararası, Wos, 2026
DOI: 10.1186/s12903-026-09743-z
Özet
Teledentistry may help children become familiar with the dentist and an upcoming clinical visit, but evidence regarding anxiety measures following pre-appointment consultations remains limited. This study compared subjective and physiological anxiety measures between children allocated to a brief teledentistry consultation and those receiving a conventional first-visit approach. This clinical trial included 200 children aged 7–11 years with no previous dental visits or treatment experience who were scheduled for routine dental examinations. Participants were allocated within age- and sex-defined strata using a computer-generated GraphPad sequence to a teledentistry group ( n = 100) or conventional group ( n = 100). Three days before the appointment, the teledentistry group received a standardized 3–5-minute WhatsApp video consultation introducing the dentist, basic oral-health messages, and a dental mirror. The conventional group had no pre-appointment contact with the dentist. Facial Image Scale (FIS), heart rate, and oxygen saturation were measured immediately before and after the in-clinic examination. Data were analyzed using mixed-design ANOVA ( p < 0.05). FIS scores decreased in both groups (Bonferroni-adjusted p < 0.001), with a greater reduction in the conventional group (time × group interaction: F(1, 198) = 13.56, p < 0.001, partial η² = 0.064). FIS scores were lower in the teledentistry group before examination (adjusted p = 0.001), whereas the post-examination between-group difference was not significant (adjusted p = 0.096). Heart rate remained unchanged in the teledentistry group but decreased in the conventional group (interaction p < 0.001). The oxygen-saturation interaction was not significant ( p = 0.157); the post-examination difference was small (adjusted mean difference = 0.14% points, adjusted p = 0.033). Children who received the pre-appointment consultation had lower FIS scores on arrival, a pattern compatible with a possible preparatory benefit. FIS scores decreased in both groups and converged after examination. Because anxiety was not measured before the remote consultation, its contribution cannot be separated definitively from residual individual differences. A brief virtual consultation may be a promising preparatory adjunct, although prospectively registered trials incorporating a true pre-intervention measurement are needed. ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT07656948, registered on 18 June 2026. Retrospectively registered.