ArticlePloS one2021
Real-life dental examination elicits physiological responses different to visual and auditory dental-related stimuli.
Article in PloS one, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed.
- Effects of ILIB on anxiety and physiological parameters during third molar surgery: a pilot randomized trial.Lasers in medical science · 2025Trial
- Investigating the relationship between psychophysiological parameters and behavioral patterns in children aged 7-10 years during dental treatment.BMC research notes · 2026Article
- Autonomic cardiovascular mechanisms linked to stress in dental practice.British dental journal · 2026Review
- Comparison of Aversion to Visual Dental Stimuli Between Patients and Dentists: A Preliminary Study.Patient preference and adherence · 2024Article
- Psychophysiological wellbeing in a class of dental students attending dental school: anxiety, burnout, post work executive performance and a 24 hours physiological investigation during a working day.Frontiers in psychology · 2024Article
- Immediate Effects of Dry Needling on Central Pain Processing and Skin Conductance in Patients with Chronic Nonspecific Neck Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of clinical medicine · 2022Article
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6 authors.
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Abstract
backgroundPrevious studies on dental anxiety have examined the psychophysiological responses evoked in dentally anxious subjects by dental-related stimuli, but not during a real-life dental examination, which was achieved in the present study.
methodsThe heart rate, skin conductance level, and heart rate variability of 25 subjects with dental anxiety and 25 healthy controls were examined. Anxiety was determined by the Modified Dental Anxiety Scale and the Dental Anxiety Scale-Revised. The psychophysiological reactions of the two groups were compared during exposure to dental-related pictures, dental-related sounds, and an actual examination in a dental surgery.
resultsAll the dental-related stimuli provoked an increase in heart rate, i.e. visual stimuli (p<0.001; 95% CI 0.98-3.95 bpm), auditory stimuli (p<0.001; 95% CI 1.34-4.99 bpm), and a dental examination (p<0.001; 95% CI 1.26-5.39 bpm). Dental-related pictures provoked inferior skin conductance level changes compared to dental-related sounds and the dental examination (visual modality vs auditory p<0.001; 95% CI 0.039-0.152; visual modality vs examination p<0.001; 95% CI 0.083-0.275). Heart rate variability manifested in a complex pattern of responses to the dental examination. However, when exposed to all three dental-related stimuli presentation conditions, the heart rate (F = 0.352, p = 0.556), skin conductance level (F = 0.009, p = 0.926), and heart rate variability parameters of subjects with dental anxiety did not differ in comparison to the healthy controls.
conclusionsThis pilot study represents an evaluation of psychophysiological reactions during a real-life dental examination compared to single modality stimuli, and shows that a real-life dental examination provokes an increase in heart rate, heart rate variability and skin conductance level. Additionally, autonomic responses did not differ between the experimental and control groups. The key issue for future studies is the effect of real-life situations on the physiological and psychological state of the subjects, which should be considered when planning new research and studied in depth.
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