Official websites use. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Correspondence: linas viken. Dental anxiety DA is a prevalent public health issue.
However, there is a lack of self-administered DA interventions. The aim of this study was to evaluate the short-term effects of web-based interventions aiming to reduce DA in adults in two European countries. A pretest posttest design was used. Tailor-made websites were developed in Lithuania and Norway. Volunteers who self-reported DA were invited to participate. The interventions were completed by 34 participants in Lithuania and 35 participants in Norway.
The present study demonstrated that two tailor-made web-based interventions had the potential to reduce dental anxiety levels when assessed in the short term in Lithuania and Norway. Studies with more controlled designs assessing long-term outcomes are needed to validate the results of this pilot study also in other cultures. Keywords: adult, community dentistry, dental anxiety, digital technology, mental health, oral health self-efficacy, public health.
Dental anxiety DA is a public health issue [ 1 ] as DA, in varying degrees, impacts oral health. Globally, DA among adults is prevalent [ 7 ]. In Lithuania, the prevalence of DA among adults is unknown. Although DA is sometimes discussed in general terms as a unified phenomenon, people with DA are not homogenous, and their anxiety can be specified as more or less severe based on the severity and nature of the symptoms experienced by the individual [ 10 ].
Dental phobia is commonly regarded as a subgenre of specific phobias where one of the key defining aspects is the avoidance of dental treatment [ 11 ]. Thus, for sufferers of dental phobia, the consequence of avoiding dental treatment or check-ups could be the deterioration of oral health status both in the short and long term [ 12 , 13 ].
