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

Part of paid clinical trials in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Sponsor
University of Michigan
Study ID
NCT06725134
Status
Recruiting
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Conditions

  • Behavior
  • Situational Anxiety

Eligibility Criteria

Sex
ALL
Age
4 Years - 12 Years
Healthy Volunteers
Accepted

Interventions

  • Therapy dog presence — BEHAVIORAL
    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.
  • Standard-of-care basic behavior guidance — BEHAVIORAL
    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.

Study Details

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.

Key Dates

Start date
Nov 1, 2024
Status verified
Nov 2025
Primary completion
Nov 30, 2026
Completion
Jul 31, 2027

Study Design

Enrollment
25 participants (estimated)
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
CROSSOVER
Primary purpose
TREATMENT

Arms

  • Active Comparator: Control
    Standard-of-care basic behavior guidance during local anesthesia
  • Experimental: Therapy dog presence
    Therapy dog present during local anesthesia administration

Primary Outcome Measure

Behavior (Face, Legs, Activity, Cry, and Consolability scale) [ Time Frame: Every 30 seconds from entry into the operatory through one-minute following injection of local anesthesia ]

Central Contacts

Locations (1)

FacilityCityStateZIPSite coordinators
University of Michigan School of Dentistry Children's ClinicAnn ArborMichigan48109
James R Boynton, DDS, MS
[email protected]
734-764-1523

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By research site
University of Michigan School of Dentistry Children's Clinic· Ann Arbor, MI

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