Research progress on psychotherapy for dental anxiety / 口腔疾病防治

@#Dental anxiety refers to the unique tension, worry and even fear of dental treatment, which may lead to patients refusing to receive treatment and missing the best time for treatment. With the development of bio-psycho-social medical models, psychotherapy has gradually become the optimal treatment for dental anxiety. This article reviewed the etiology, evaluation and psychotherapy of dental anxiety. Research has shown that uncomfortable dental treatment experience is the main cause of dental anxiety, which is commonly assessed using questionnaires in clinical practice. Psychotherapy for dental anxiety is a noninvasive, widely applicable treatment without side effects, mainly including improving the treatment environment and service attitude, behavior therapy, and cognitive therapy, which has been shown to effectively alleviate dental anxiety in patients. However, psychotherapy for dental anxiety is highly demanding for dentists, which hinders its promotion and application. At the same time, the psychotherapeutic mechanism of dental anxiety is not clear and remains to be further elucidated by large-scale and high-quality randomized controlled studies.

Uso de técnicas de exposición en una clínica de psicología / Use of Exposure Techniques in a Psychology Clinic

El objetivo del artículo es indagar el uso de las técnicas de exposición en la práctica de la psicología clínica asistencial. Se analiza el tipo de técnicas de exposición, su frecuencia de uso, tanto en general como en función del diagnóstico, y su relación con los resultados del tratamiento. De los 880 pacientes de la Clínica Universitaria de Psicología de la Universidad Complutense, con todo tipo de diagnóstico, el 67.2% son mujeres y su edad media es de 32.79 años. Los resultados señalan que el 39.5% de los casos ha utilizado alguna técnica de exposición, siendo la Exposición Gradual la más frecuente (31.6%). Predomina el uso de las técnicas de exposición en trastornos de ansiedad (70.8%), somatomorfos (47.4%) y sexuales (47.1%). Se observa un incremento en el uso de técnicas de exposición en los casos con comorbilidad (55.4% frente a 36.3%). De los casos que han recibido alguna técnica de exposición, el 74.1% ha finalizado con éxito el tratamiento, frente al 61.9% de los que no han utilizado ninguna técnica de exposición. Se discuten los resultados, destacando el valor de usar técnicas de exposición para reducir la evitación o las respuestas de miedo con independencia del diagnóstico.

The aim of this work is to explore the use of exposure techniques at the health care context of a clinical psychology facility. Different modalities of exposure techniques, their frequency of usage - both across the entire sample and considering different diagnostic groups - and their relationship to the treatment results, were analysed. From the 880 patients with diverse diagnosis treated at the University Psychology Clinic of the Universidad Complutense of Madrid, 67.2% were women, with a mean of32.79 years. Results show that exposure techniques were used in 39.5% of total cases, being gradual exposure the most frequent (31.6%). Exposure techniques were employed foremost on anxiety disorders (70.8%), somatoform disorders (47.4%), and sexual disorders (47.1%). Also, it was observed that exposure techniques were used more often in cases with one or more comorbid diagnosis (55.4 vs. 36.3%). 74.1% of the patients treated with exposure techniques received therapeutic discharge, while 61.9% of patients not treated with exposure techniques were discharged. The results are discussed, emphasizing the utility of exposure techniques to treat avoidant or fearful behaviour regardless of the diagnosis.

Gag Reflex: No More A Gag To A Dentist The Behavioral Techniques, Pharmacological Techniques, Acupressure and Acupuncture in Controlling the Gag Reflex - A Review.

Gagging in dental patients can be disruptive to dental treatment and may be a barrier to a patient care, preventing the provision of treatment and the wearing of prostheses. Many management techniques have been described to control the gagging. This article reviews the literature on various management strategies described to prevent and control the gagging.

Consistencia entre el reporte verbal y los efectos psicofisiológicos registrados en el tratamiento de una fobia específica empleando la técnica de la Desensibilización Sistemática (DS) / Consistency between verbal report and psychophysiological effects registered in the treatment of a specific phobia using Systematic Desensitization

En la presente investigación se empleó un diseño cuasi-experimental de caso único AB para evaluar la consistencia del reporte verbal basado en Unidades Subjetivas de Ansiedad (USAS) y los efectos psicofisiológicos registrados en la aplicación de la técnica de la Desensibilización Sistemática, empleando el componente imaginario de ésta en un caso de fobia específica a las aves. Los resultados no mostraron una consistencia entre el informe verbal del sujeto, en el cual reportó, tanto cero USAS para 10 escenas ansiógenas, como una disminución en la activación fisiológica, y las medidas obtenidas en los equipos que registraban el pulso y la RGP. El pulso mostró una tendencia al aumento mientras que la RGP una tendencia a mantener los mismos niveles.

In the present research a quasi- experimental AB single case research design was used to assess the consistency of a verbal report based on Subjective Units of Discomfort (SUDS) and the psycho-physiological measures of pulse and galvanic skin response (GSR) when applying the systematic desensitization technique and using only its imaginary component in the treatment of a specific phobia to birds. The results found didn’t show a consistency between the participant’s verbal report, in which both cero SUDS were reported for 10 ansiogenic scenes and a decrease in the physiological arousal, and the measurements obtained by the equipment that registered pulse and GSR. In contrast, the pulse showed an increasing tendency and the GSR registered a tendency to maintain the same levels.