Background

Dental anxiety is considered to be the main cause of patients not attending dental services, and can lead to serious impairments in oral health, reduced quality of life and, in addition, significant expenses for the Public Dental Service. Up to 20% of children and adolescents have dental treatment anxiety.

We need more tools to be better able to help children who are afraid to go to the dentist.

Purpose

With this innovation project, we will develop a new digital service for children and adolescents with dental treatment anxiety. The target audience for the new service is children and adolescents who are at risk of or who have developed dental treatment anxiety, their guardians and their service providers. The goal of the new service is to provide user-centered, evidence-based methods that facilitate dental treatment for children and adolescents.

Methods

Through insightful work and co-creative processes in which children and adolescents also contribute, we will establish new digital services and aids for children who are afraid to go to the dentist.

Cooperating Institutions and External Financing

• SINTEF Digital
• NTNU
• Karolinska Institutet
• University of Sheffield
• County dentists in Trøndelag, Vestfold and Telemark county municipalities
• TkVest
• Supported by the Research Council of Norway
• The Change Factory