When it comes to carrying out a treatment, previously knowing the emotional state of the patient is essential for odontologists and, in general, for any health professional, as patients may present an immune state altered by the anxiety caused by “dental phobia” or doctors in general.
Knowing the emotional state of the patient would help professionals to identify risk situations and considering what could be the most appropriate treatment for such patient, according to the thesis “Study f immune system behaviour in odontological patients diagnosed with Specific Dental Phobia and Generalized Anxiety”, carried out by Rosario Lago Gijón, in the Department of Stomatology and Radiology and Physical Medicine of the University of Granada, under the supervision of professors Antonio Cutando Soriano, Juan Villalba Moreno and Gerardo Gómez Moreno.
The thesis, carried out in the interdisciplinary scientific field that does research into the interactions between brain, immune system and its clinical consequences, has studied a population of 42 patients, 26 of which were diagnosed with specific dental phobia and generalized anxiety.
Phobia and anxiety
According to the persons responsible for the study, “when comparing the control and experimental groups, Interleukina-1 β is significantly lower in experimental patients. In the correlation between variables in the experimental group, the more dental phobia the subject displays, the fewer cytotoxic lymphocytes (CD8) and total lymphocytes. The more generalized phobia, the fewer CD4/CD8 and CD8 lymphocytes ratio. The more depression, the less Melatonin and the more NPY the less salivary volume”.
When we compare the experimental group of minor patients to the group of serious ones –researchers say-, Natural Killer (NK) cells, whose main function is cytotoxicity, appear significantly lower in serious experimental subjects. In the correlation between variables in the serious experimental group, the more dental phobia, the less CD8, CD8% and CD3%. The more generalized anxiety, the less CD4/CD8 ratio. The older they are, the less Cortisol and the more Melatonin. The more generalized anxiety, the more depression and the more NPY, the less Melatonin”.
Reference:
Prof Juan Villalba Moreno.
Department of Radiology and Physical Medicine. University of Granada.
Phone number: 958244246. 958 240987.
E-mail: jvillal@ugr.es
Rosario Lago Gijón: Phone number: 958201601.
