Dentists' Opinions of a Computerized Therapy Program for Injection Fear

The responsibility for treating fearful patients falls primarily on dental providers. Therefore it is important for providers to have options for alleviating patients' fear. CARL (Computer Assisted Relaxation Learning) is an in-office computerized exposure therapy designed to treat dental injection fear. Objectives: To explore the first impressions that providers give when the CARL program is described to them and their willingness to use it in-office. Methods: Two groups of dentists in the Seattle area were interviewed by telephone: providers who used “gentle techniques” or similar terms in their telephone directory advertisements, and members of the Dental Organization for Conscious Sedation (DOCS). A brief overview of the CARL program was read to them and questions regarding advantages, disadvantages, barriers and willingness to use the program were posed. Results: Nineteen private practice dentists (22% female; 56% “gentle” dentists) participated in the telephone interviews. One provider was removed from analyses because he did not identify as belonging to either provider group during the interview. Most providers agreed that the CARL program could be potentially useful.They were, however, concerned that only a certain type of fearful patient would adhere to and benefit from CARL. Main barriers identified were patients' ages, computer illiteracy, space availability, time and how time would be related to cost. The majority of providers reported being willing to try the program. An online version was suggested as a good alternative to implementing the CARL program in office. This could save time for both the patient and the provider and would be a possible solution for several potential barriers. Conclusion: Most providers would be willing to try the CARL program based on an oral description of how it works, however an on-line version was indicated as preferable to an in-office program. Funded by U54 DE 14254 and T32 DE 007132