An interventional study of neVR Fear the Dentist in Dental Fear, sponsored by New York University. Active, not recruiting at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 13 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-03-11.
Sponsored by New York University · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment
The purpose of this study is to compare an intervention for dental fear to the usual approach (i.e., whatever your dentist typically does to help you manage fear) in reducing patient fear and making dentist appointments more tolerable. The dental fear intervention (called neVR Fear the Dentist™) has two separate steps. Step 1 involves using a mobile app that is based on research-backed approaches to handling dental fear on your smartphone or device. Step 2 is a 1-hour self-administered virtual reality intervention to be completed in the dental office.
This is a randomized study. Participants will be randomized to either the intervention group or an active control.
Investigators hypothesize that participants in the intervention condition will show greater declines in self-reported dental fear and improved oral health-related quality of life during post-treatment and follow-up period.
New York University is the lead sponsor of 120 studies on the registry; 32 are open to participants now.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
Exclusion Criteria:
Behavioral: neVR Fear the Dentist
neVR Fear the DentistTM comprises two major evidence-based interventions. First is a self-administered eHealth app for CBT/ psychoeducation with exposure therapy - delivered via a mobile tablet - that can be completed anywhere. Second is a 1-hr virtual reality exposure treatment (VRET).
Reduction in dental fear
Overall dental fear will be measured by the self-report Gatchel Dental Fear Item (Gatchel, 1987). This scale uses a one-item assessment of overall dental fear. Patients rate their dental fear on a scale of 0 = "None" to 10 = "High", with higher scores representing higher levels of fear.
Time frame: Measure will be collected at baseline, immediately post-treatment, and 1-, 3-, and 6-months post treatment.
Dental fear and anxiety
Dental fear and anxiety will also be measured using the Index of Dental Fear and Anxiety (IDAF; Armfield, 2010), an 8-item patient-report survey. Responses range from 1 = "Disagree" to 5 = "Strongly Agree." Total scores range from 5 to 40 with higher scores representing more dental anxiety/fear.
Time frame: Measure will be collected at baseline, immediately post-treatment, and 1-, 3-, and 6-months post treatment.
Anticipatory dental fear
Anticipatory dental fear will be measured via self-report using the Modified Dental Anxiety Scale (MDAS; Humphries et al., 1995), a 5-item scale. All items are rated on a 1-5 scale where 1 = "Not Anxious" and 5 = "Extremely Anxious," with total scores ranging from 5 to 25. Higher scores indicate higher dental anticipatory anxiety.
Time frame: Measure will be collected at baseline, immediately post-treatment, and 1-, 3-, and 6-months post treatment.
This study is active, not recruiting, as verified in May 2025. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
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New York University