Easing Anxiety with Therapy Dogs

While animal-assisted interventions may reduce distress for anxious patients, dental professionals need to adhere to appropriate guidelines to ensure their proper introduction into dental practice.

EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES
After reading this course, the participant should be able to:

1. Define the purpose of animal-assisted interventions in health-care settings.
2. Discuss the prevalence and symptoms of dental anxiety.
3. Discuss the use of animal-assisted therapy in the dental setting.
4. Identify the guidelines and recommendations for safely incorporating therapy animals into a dental practice.

This course was issued in March 2019 issue and expires March 2022. The authors have no commercial conflicts of interest to disclose. This 2 credit hours self-study activity is electronically mediated.