ReviewHealthcare (Basel, Switzerland)2024
Effectiveness of Nonpharmacological Behavioural Interventions in Managing Dental Fear and Anxiety among Children: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Review in Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland), 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
22 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 14 citations in OpenAlex.
- A systematic review and narrative synthesis of evidence from randomised controlled trials: the impact of behaviour guidance techniques on dental anxiety in paediatric patients.BMC oral health · 2025Pooled it
- A randomised controlled trial comparing effectiveness of audio-visual aid and ai-personalised video self-modelling interventions to reduce dental fear and anxiety in paediatric patients.European archives of paediatric dentistry : official journal of the European Academy of Paediatric Dentistry · 2026Trial
- Efficacy of scenario-experiential behavior management techniques on dental fear in preschool children with dental caries: a randomized controlled trial.BMC oral health · 2025Trial
- Dental Anxiety among Preschool Children Attending a Tertiary Children's Hospital: Associations with Previous Dental Experience, Parental Dental Anxiety, and Oral Health Indicators.Oral health & preventive dentistry · 2026Article
- 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
- Behavioral Determinants in Pediatric Dentistry: A Comparative Analysis of Cooperative Versus Uncooperative Patients.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Virtual Reality Glasses vs Conventional Behavior Management Techniques for Anxiety and Pain Control in 6-10-year-old Children: A Randomized Controlled Trial.International journal of clinical pediatric dentistry · 2026Article
- Behavioral and Cognitive Strategies in Pediatric Dentistry: Current Concepts in Anxiety and Fear Management.Cureus · 2026Review
- Impact of Mobile Oral Health Applications on Pediatric Dental Anxiety: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis.Cureus · 2026Review
- Use of a handheld communication tool for children and youths during dental procedures: a two-site controlled intervention study.Acta odontologica Scandinavica · 2026Article
- Sedation and General Anesthesia in Non-Cooperative Dental Patients: An Italian Clinical Experience.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- The change in dental fear and anxiety toward dental examinations among preschool children in Hong Kong. 18-months longitudinal study.Frontiers in oral health · 2026Article
- Effectiveness of Thumb Sleeve Distraction and Pop-It Therapeutic Play in Reducing Dental Anxiety and Pain in Children Aged 4-6 Years Undergoing Mandibular Alveolar Nerve Block: A Randomized Controlled Trial.International journal of dentistry · 2026Article
- Effect of Personalized AI-Generated Picture Books on Anxiety During First Dental Visits in Young Children: Two Case Reports.Case reports in dentistry · 2026Article
- Analyzing Nonpharmacological Behavior Management in Children With Dental Anxiety: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Health science reports · 2025Review
- Evaluation of dental treatments under nitrous oxide-oxygen inhalation sedation in pediatric patients with dental anxiety: a 10-Year retrospective study.BMC oral health · 2025Article
- Article
- Comparative effectiveness and safety of dexmedetomidine and midazolam in pediatric dental sedation: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of dental anesthesia and pain medicine · 2025Review
- Culture and Behaviour Management of Children in the Dental Clinic: A Scoping Review.Dentistry journal · 2025Review
- Salivary Cortisol as a Biomarker for Assessing Fear and Anxiety in Patients with Molar-Incisor Hypomineralization.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundNon-pharmacological behavioural interventions (NPBIs) have been employed by dentists to alleviate dental fear and anxiety (DFA) among preschool and school children. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to investigate the effectiveness of different NPBIs in reducing DFA among children aged below 12.
methodA comprehensive search was conducted using four electronic databases to identify randomised controlled trials that assess the effectiveness of NPBIs among preschool and school children. Two reviewers independently screened and selected the relevant studies, evaluated the risk of bias, and extracted relevant data for qualitative and quantitative syntheses.
resultA total of 66 articles were included in the study. Except during more invasive dental procedures, the use of distraction techniques was found to result in significantly lower self-rated anxiety, better cooperation, and lower pulse rate compared to the tell-show-do method. However, inconsistent results were reported regarding the efficacy of virtual reality, modelling, visual pedagogies, tell-show-do and other NPBIs in reducing DFA among children.
conclusionsThe studies exhibited substantial heterogeneity due to varying age groups, methods of implementing NPBIs, dental treatments performed, and measurement scales employed in the evaluation of DFA.
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.