Alexandra ROMAN1, Ramona MOLDOVAN2, Robert BALÁZSI2,
Radu CÂMPIAN1, Andrada SOANCA1, Stefan STRATUL4,
Daniel DAVID*2,4
1Iuliu HaŃieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
2Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
3Victor Babes University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Timisoara, Romania
4Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, USA
Abstract
A randomized clinical trial was conducted to investigate the efficacy of periodontal surgery in combination with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) compared to standard surgery alone in the treatment of 52 outpatients with periodontal disease. Patients were randomly assigned to one of the following: (1) standard treatment – periodontal surgery, which served as a reference condition in this study (Control); (2) standard treatment plus CBT (Intervention). The psychological outcomes investigated were pain, anxiety and distress. Mechanisms of change (irrational beliefs and expectations) were hypothesized to have mediating effects. Our results indicate that a brief CBT intervention before periodontal surgery significantly reduces general distress and anxiety. CBT also changed irrational beliefs and expectations. Mediation analyses showed that the effect of treatment (CBT intervention plus standard treatment) on the outcome (general distress and anxiety) was mediated by changes in cognitions (irrational beliefs and expectations).
Keywords: cognitive behavioral therapy, periodontal surgery, distress, anxiety, theory/mechanisms of change
