Impact of Therapy Dogs on Child Anxiety and Behavior During Local Anesthesia for Dental Procedures

Therapy dogs in dental offices might help anxious children during dental care. Therapy dogs might help children during injection of local anesthetic, when we inject numbing medication before working on the teeth. The goal of this study is to learn if having a therapy dog with a child during the injection of numbing medication helps children to be more comfortable at the dentist's office. This study is of children who need dental care using local anesthesia. Study participant's behavioral reactions and heart rate during injection of local anesthetic with and without having a therapy dog present will be recorded and children and their guardians will be asked a few short questions about the injection and therapy dog after injection.

Children undergoing dental restorative or surgical procedures require injection of local anesthetic. The injection procedure is often the most anxiety-producing stimulus for children during dental care, when children demonstrate the highest level of emotional distress. Several studies have investigated various interventions, such as distraction, hypnosis, and cognitive behavioral therapy to ease this stress. Animal-assisted therapy (e.g. the presence of a therapy dog) may be a promising strategy for managing anxiety in young dental patients. However, no studies have explored the potential benefits of using therapy dogs specifically during the administration of local anesthesia in pediatric dental patients. The objective of this randomized controlled trial is to investigate the effects of therapy dogs on pediatric dental patients during local anesthesia administration.