305 - Do Certified Therapy Dogs Improve Behavior in Pediatric Dental Patients?

Abstract:

Purpose: To assess whether pediatric dental patients who receive treatment in the presence of a certified therapy dog have better behavior and lower anxiety than those who receive treatment without a dog.

Methods: This study is a prospective, single-center, parallel-arm randomized controlled trial, conducted in the Pediatric Dental Clinic at MUSC. Participants were randomized into the therapy dog group or the control group on a 1:1 basis. Pediatric dental patients between the ages of 3-7 who will undergo a restorative procedure requiring the use of nitrous oxide and the injection of a local anesthetic and meet other eligibility criteria were eligible for the study. Behavior was measured at four times using the Frankl score, and anxiety was measured at the same four times using heart rate. We used an independent samples t-test to evaluate the heart rate between the two groups at each time point and the Mann-Whitney test to evaluate the Frankl scores at each time point.

Results: This is an interim analysis, as the study is ongoing. The analysis includes 34 participants. While neither the Frankl score or heart rate show a statistically significant difference, the results are encouraging and suggest that the presence of the therapy dog may result in improved behavior and lower heart rate. Parent responses to the survey are overwhelmingly in favor of the use of therapy dogs.

Conclusions: Promising on-going analysis is encouraging and reveals a potential additional treatment modality that could further aid the provider in addressing needs in the pediatric population.

Identify Supporting Agency and Grant Number: Research supported by SCTR Discovery Grant 2404, UL1 TR001450