Impact of a videotaped dental fear-reduction program on people who avoid dental treatment

Discussed is the impact of a videotaped dental fear-reduction program on moderately and highly fearful people who avoid dental treatment. Subjects were assigned randomly to one of two groups--the videotaped treatment group or the videotaped placebo group. The results indicate that the videotaped treatment program produced a decrease in self-reported fear in both moderately fearful and highly fearful subjects. However, the treatment program increased dental visitation and appointment-making behavior only for moderately fearful subjects.