AI chatbots take on Kids' dental fears
NCT ID NCT07133919
First seen Jun 25, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study compares AI-generated, child-friendly explanations and stories to traditional behavior management techniques for reducing anxiety in children aged 6-12 during dental local anesthesia. Researchers will measure pulse, oxygen levels, and anxiety scores in 60 healthy children. The goal is to see if AI tools can make dental visits less scary and more comfortable.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- AI-assisted child-friendly communication (behavioral intervention)
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could provide a simple, non-drug way to reduce fear and pain in children during dental procedures, making visits easier for kids and parents.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early-stage study with only 60 children, so results may not apply to all kids or settings. The AI approach may not work better than traditional methods.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 60 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Oct 2025
- Expected to finish
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Jan 2026
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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7 to 12 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Accepted
You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.
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Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Children volunteers and their parents/legal guardians who have read and signed the informed consent form and agreed to participate in the study * Systemically healthy children aged 6-12 years in the mixed dentition period * Children requiring restorative dental procedures (including pulpotomy, pulp capping, or composite restorations) on mandibular teeth under inferior alveolar nerve block local anesthesia * Children who are attending their first dental visit and demonstrate behavior rated as 2 (negative) or 3 (positive) according to the Frankl Behavior Rating Scale (Categories: 1 - definitely negative; 2 - negative; 3 - positive; 4 - definitely positive) Behaviors will be categorized as positive (+) or negative (-) based on the Frankl Behavior Rating Scale (Wright's modification) * Children receiving local anesthesia for the first time Exclusion Criteria: * Children volunteers and their parents/legal guardians who read the informed consent form but declined to participate in the study * Children with systemic diseases requiring continuous medication * Children with mental or cognitive impairments, as well as those with visual or hearing disabilities * Children who, after oral prophylaxis at the first visit, exhibit "definitely negative" (Frankl 1) or "definitely positive" (Frankl 4) behavior according to the Frankl Behavior Rating Scale * Children with previous experience of local anesthesia
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Canakkale Onsekiz Mart University
RECRUITINGÇanakkale, Kepez, 17100, Turkey (Türkiye)
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
- Headphones vs. the drill: music put to the test against dental anxiety
- Can a local anesthetic injection curb Kids' pain after tonsil removal?
- Can a cartoon calm kids before dental surgery?
- Robot seal may help anxious kids sit through dental treatment
- Nature vs. art: which virtual world calms dental patients best?
- Live music may soothe dental anxiety in adults with developmental disabilities