Intervention of Group Sandplay Therapy on Dental Fear of Children

Objective To explore the efficacy of the group sandplay therapy on relieving anxiety of patients with children's dental fear.Methods The research approach of randomized controls was adopted,and the Chinese version of the modified Children's Fear Survey Schedule-Dental Subscale(CFSS-DS)and the Frank1 table in behavioral measurements were used as the screening assessment tool.Sixty dental fear patients with moderate to severe anxieties were selected and divided into an intervention group and a control group equally from the consultation-seeking children aged 5-12 years.The control group was given the regular consultation and treatments,while the intervention group was subjected to the group sandplay therapy after taking the initial dental treatments.The CFSS-DS scale schedule was used to assess the clinical efficacies.Results There was no significant difference in the CFSS-DS values before and after the initial consultation and treatment in the control group(P 0.05).While the CFSS-DS values after the group sandplay therapy had significant difference compared with that before the initial consultation in the intervention group(P 0.01).And there was significant difference in the CFSS-DS values in the intervention group after the group sandplay therapy compared with that in the control group after the initial consultation(P 0.01).Conclusion Groups sandplay therapy for children's dental fear patients can effectively alleviate anxiety,and is suitable for promotion and applications among children patients with dental diseases.