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Clinical implications of panic symptoms in dental phobia
Carrie M Potter1, Dina G Kinner1, Marisol Tellez2
1Adult Anxiety Clinic, Department of Psychology, Temple University, 1701 North 13 Street, Philadelphia, PA 19122, USA.
Abstract:
The occurrence of panic symptoms in various anxiety disorders has been associated with more severely impaired and difficult-to-treat cases, but this has not been investigated in dental phobia. We examined the clinical implications of panic symptoms related to sub-clinical and clinically significant dental phobia. The sample consisted of 61 patients at a university dental clinic who endorsed symptoms of dental phobia, 25 of whom met criteria for a formal diagnosis of dental phobia. Participants with dental phobia endorsed more panic symptoms than did those with sub-clinical dental phobia. In the total sample, greater endorsement of panic symptoms was associated with higher dental anxiety, more avoidance of dental procedures, and poorer oral health-related quality of life. Among those with dental phobia, certain panic symptoms exhibited associations with specific anxiety-eliciting dental procedures. Panic symptoms may serve as indicators of clinically significant dental phobia and the need for augmented treatment.
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