1. |
- Agdal, Maren Lillehaug, et al.
(author)
-
Quality-of-life before and after cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) in patients with intra-oral injection phobia
- 2012
-
In: Acta Odontologica Scandinavica. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0001-6357 .- 1502-3850. ; 70:6, s. 463-470
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objective. To evaluate quality-of-life (QoL), before and after cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) in patients diagnosed with intra-oral injection phobia according to DSM-IV and to compare with the general population. This study also aimed to evaluate if QoL was associated with self-reported injection anxiety, dental anxiety, time since last dental treatment and oral health. Materials and methods. Subjects were 55 patients (mean age 35.5 +/- 12.2, 78.2% women) who participated in a treatment study in which 89% managed an intra-oral injection at 1 year follow-up. The patients completed a set of questionnaires including Quality of Life Inventory (QOLI), Injection Phobia Scale-Anxiety, Dental Anxiety Scale and a single-item question assessing self-perceived oral health. Objective measures of oral health and treatment needs were based on clinical examination. QOLI-scores from a non-clinical sample were used for comparison. Results. Before treatment the general and health specific QoL were lower among intra-oral injection phobics than in the non-clinical sample. At 1 year follow-up the QoL in general had improved significantly and was similar to that of the non-clinical sample. Poor self-reported oral health and long-term avoidance of dental treatment were associated with lower general and health-specific QoL. Self-reported injection anxiety and dental anxiety were not associated with QoL. Conclusions. Patients with intra-oral injection phobia report lower QoL compared with a general population. Phobia treatment seems to increase QoL to normative levels. Self-perceived poor oral health is associated with reduced QoL in these patients.
|
|