Trial reportEuropean archives of paediatric dentistry : official journal of the European Academy of Paediatric Dentistry2021
Assessment of dental anxiety in children between 5 and 10 years of age in the presence of a therapy dog: a randomized controlled clinical study.
Trial report in European archives of paediatric dentistry : official journal of the European Academy of Paediatric Dentistry, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT07448714 (Animal Assisted Therapy as a Behavioral Management Technique During Dental Treatment in Pediatric Patients), which is not on this map. Cited by 18 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Animal Assisted Therapy as a Behavioral Management Technique During Dental Treatment in Pediatric Patients
Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 36 citations in OpenAlex.
- Non-pharmacological and physical strategies for managing dental anxiety: a systematic review with implications for dental education.Public health reviews · 2026Pooled it
- The supporting role of dogs in the inpatient setting: a systematic review of the therapeutic effects of animal-assisted therapy with dogs for children and adolescents in an inpatient setting.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2025Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Intraoral clinical examinations of pediatric patients with anticipatory anxiety and situational fear facilitated by therapy dog assistance: A pilot RCT.Clinical and experimental dental research · 2023Trial
- Dog-assisted therapy in paediatric dentistry: physiological, psychological, and family-centred benefits in managing child dental anxiety.European archives of paediatric dentistry : official journal of the European Academy of Paediatric Dentistry · 2026Article
- Neurobiological Effects of Non-Invasive Behavioural Management Strategies in Paediatric Dentistry: A Scoping Review.Clinics and practice · 2026Review
- Predicting Dental Anxiety and Cooperative Behavior in Children Using Machine Learning: A Cross-Sectional Predictive Modeling Study.Dentistry journal · 2026Article
- Efficacy and Pain Perception of a Comfort-in™ for Palatal Anesthesia in Pediatric Dental Patients: A Randomized Controlled Trial.International journal of clinical pediatric dentistry · 2026Article
- Article
- Analyzing Nonpharmacological Behavior Management in Children With Dental Anxiety: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Health science reports · 2025Review
- Effects of Animal-Assisted Therapy for Anxiety Reduction in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Review
- Recent Developments in the Non-Pharmacological Management of Children's Behavior Based on Distraction Techniques: A Concise Review.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- The Role of Animal-Assisted Therapy in Enhancing Patients' Well-Being: Systematic Study of the Qualitative and Quantitative Evidence.JMIRx med · 2024Review
- Effectiveness of Nonpharmacological Behavioural Interventions in Managing Dental Fear and Anxiety among Children: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Evaluation of the Erbium-doped Yttrium Aluminum Garnet Laser and the Conventional Method on Pain Perception and Anxiety Level in Children during Caries Removal: A Randomized Split-mouth Study.International journal of clinical pediatric dentistry · 2023Article
- Children's Dental Fear: Occurrence Mechanism and Prevention Guidance.Journal of multidisciplinary healthcare · 2023Review
- Improving oral health care accessibility for homeless and vulnerably housed pet-owning populations.Canadian journal of dental hygiene : CJDH = Journal canadien de l'hygiene dentaire : JCHD · 2022Article
- Animal-Assisted Interventions for Children with Advanced Cancer: Child and Parent Perceptions.Palliative medicine reports · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeChildren are often afraid to visit a dentist. Dental anxiety is a worldwide issue and a barrier to successful treatment outcome. Pet therapy, especially through dogs, has been demonstrated to be beneficial in reducing anxiety. In today's generation, where dopamine is prevalent, attention is hijacked, and children are tethered to screens-this research on animal-assisted therapy outlines the impact on children undergoing simple dental procedures, and to evaluate its use in long-term behavior management, and child and parental acceptance of this technique.
methodsOne hundred and two children between five and 10 years of age and requiring simple dental procedures were selected randomly and divided into two groups. In Group A, dental treatment was carried out in the presence of a therapy dog, and in Group B (the control group), dental treatment was carried out in a regular dental setup. Anxiety levels were evaluated by pulse rate and anxiety rating scale. Prior to exiting the room, the parents were asked to rate the child's interaction with therapy dogs.
resultsAccording to an independent t test, reduction in anxiety was highly significant (p < 0.001).
conclusionAnimal-assisted therapy is an effective behavior management strategy.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.