Abstract
Objectives: Taking a dental impression is known to have varying levels of impact on patient discomfort and stress depending on the hygienist’s proficiency. This study aims to directly measure stress levels and find stress-lowering approaches from a clinical perspective. Methods: Thirty-three people who visited the dental hygiene clinic at Yonsei University Wonju College of Medicine were enrolled in the study. The participants’ stress levels were measured using uBioMacpa (BioSense Creative Co., Ltd) to measure blood flow in the left index finger in an upright position. The measurements were taken three times (before, during, and after alginate impression taking), after which the participants completed a questionnaire. Results: Stress levels were highest during impression taking, followed by before and after impression taking. One interesting finding was that 76.5% and 82.5% of people who had an above-average (38.75) stress level before impression taking had an above-average stress level during and after impression taking. Conclusions: This suggests that anti-stress clinical approaches for patients prior to alginate impression taking can reduce dental stress during impression taking. Moreover, these results also suggest that active patient cooperation can be garnered by lowering patient stress and fatigue pertinent to dental care through appropriate early anti-stress measures.
Figures & Tables
Figure 1. Comparison of the continuity of total value of stress. This is divided into two groups (based on the average value of the total value of stress (38.75) measured in Step 1 where Group 1 is the high-value group, and Group 2 is the low-value group.