Course Summary:

Dental fear is common. This fear leads many patients to delay or avoid dental treatment. Further, it is associated with numerous negative oral, systemic, and mental health outcomes. This course reviews key background and clinical considerations. Participants will learn about the problem of dental fear, including concepts that are important for understanding its causes and consequences. Participants will also learn practical approaches for assessing and managing fear in the dental clinic.

Learning Objectives:

1. Define dental fear and describe its prevalence, causes, and outcomes.

2. Identify approaches for assessing and categorizing patients who experience dental fear.

3. Apply basic and advanced chairside techniques for dental fear management.

Presenter Bios:

Marilynn Rothen, RDH, MS,

Is a dental hygienist with a master’s degree in Oral Biology from the University of Washington. She is a Clinical Professor in the Oral Health Sciences Department at the University of Washington School of Dentistry. She directs the dental students’ course in Interprofessional Education and manages the school’s Regional Clinical Dental Research Center with over 30 years of experience conducting research studies and clinical trials. As a clinician, she has provided dental hygiene care to patients with extreme dental fear for 30 years at the UW Dental Fears Research Clinic. She has taught dental and dental hygiene students the skills needed to deliver care to patients experiencing dental fear and anxiety and lectured nationally to oral health care providers on managing patients with dental fear. She wrote the chapter “Insights for Fearful Patients” in the textbook Local Anesthesia for Dental Professionals.

Cameron L. Randall, PhD,

Is a clinical health psychologist and Assistant Professor of Oral Health Sciences at the University of Washington School of Dentistry in Seattle. His NIH-funded research focuses on pain, dental fear, health behavior, and providers’ implementation of evidence-based practice. He also leads work on the integration of behavioral health and oral health, and he researches and speaks on topics related to workforce well-being. He has published more than 50 articles and chapters on these topics, and his scholarly work has been recognized with awards from the NIH, the International Association for Dental Research, and the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry. He wrote the sections on dental fear for the recently released NIH report, Oral Health in America: Advances and Challenges, and he regularly lectures on dental fear for regional, national, and international audiences.