Tooth extraction is one of the most common surgical procedures in dentistry. Up to 15% of
the world's adult population suffers from high anxiety about dental treatments. The
stress resulting from this anxiety may cause a delay in the healing and fusion of the
surgical wound. Therefore, it is possible to perform this surgical tooth extraction
procedure under general anesthesia.
The purpose of the present study is to assess the level of anxiety/fear and to monitor
the wound healing process among patients who are about to undergo surgery to remove
wisdom teeth or no more than 3 jaw implants under local anesthesia in the dental clinic
compared to patients who are about to undergo the same surgery under general anesthesia.
The various measurements of the study will include:
Level of free cortisol hormone in saliva.The levels of this hormone are correlated to the
level of fear
The level of fear of pain will be measured using the Fear of Pain Questionnaire -
(FPQ-III)
The level of fear of dental pain will be measured using the short version of the fear of
dental pain questionnaire - FDPQ
Level of dental anxiety - will be measured using by the dental anxiety scale of The DAS
Corah
. To monitor the inflammation and wound healing, the inflammatory proliferation scale
(IPR) will be used to monitor the wound healing process
The study includes 5 visits:
Visit 1: 5-7 days before surgery - in the waiting room of the dental clinic. The patients
will sign an informed consent form, fill out questionnaires and a saliva test will be
taken from them. A clinical assessment will be conducted by the surgeon
Visit 2: on the day of surgery, in the waiting room of the dental clinic or the operating
room (depending on the type of anesthesia planned). The patients will fill out
questionnaires and a saliva sample will be taken from them
Visit 3: 5 days after the surgery - in the waiting room of the dental clinic The patients
will fill out questionnaires and a saliva sample will be taken from them. The surgeon
will report complications and complete the IPR.
Visit 4: 14 days after surgery The surgeon will complete the IPR.
Visit 5: 6 weeks after surgery The surgeon will complete the IPR.