Cognitive behavioural therapy and the adolescent patient

In the UK, there are 7.4 million 10 to 19-year-olds, who make up 12% of the population.¹ Approximately half (46%) of 15-year-olds have obvious dental caries experience and 10% of adolescents are reported to have severe dental anxiety.² Clearly, dentally anxious young people with caries represent a large and challenging patient group. Dental anxiety is associated with poor oral health status (increased prevalence of decayed teeth and extracted teeth) and worse oral health-related quality of life.^3,4 It is also associated with avoidance of dental care and compromised treatment decisions. For example, children with dental anxiety are more likely to have their treatment postponed, more likely to have restorative treatment without local anaesthetic and less likely to have dental radiographs.⁵

Treating children with dental anxiety can also have a significant impact on dental practitioners as it can be stressful, time consuming and has financial implications.⁶ Dental practitioners may be reluctant to carry out dental treatment on anxious patients for fear of reinforcing their dental anxiety and consequently report being less satisfied with the quality of care they provide.⁷ These factors may result in children being referred to secondary dental care services and having to wait longer periods of time for their dental treatment.⁸