Biofeedback Role in Dental Phobia

Bio-feedback is a safe and effective non-pharmacological technique of reducing anxiety in a significant proportion of patients. Dental phobia is an abnormal fear/ dread of visiting the dentist for preventive care/therapy as well as any unwarranted anxiety over the dental procedure. Dental phobia is often caused by bad or in some cases, by a horrific dental experience. So, far, there is no study reported in the literature on the use of biofeedback to reduce anxiety for dental patients. A study was therefore designed to assess the efficacy of biofeedback in reducing anxiety in such patients at the Narayana Medical College Hospital, Nellore, AP, India. In this study of children aged 9-12yrs who were taken up for dental restorative procedure, 13 subjects were found to have significant anxiety prior to the procedure as measured by Facial Rating Scale and Self Assessment Questionnaire. They were trained to relax through biofeedback using the parameters GSR & BVP. Subsequently the dental procedure was carried out and level of anxiety was assessed again after the treatment. It was found that dental phobia was reduced significantly by the biofeedback resulting in better co-operation from the child for the dental procedure.