Written information versus multimedia education: A randomized trial on anxiety at the onset of orthodontic treatment in adolescents

Objective: This study aimed to compare the effects of multimedia and written explanations on anxiety, dental fear, and pain perception among adolescents before the start of fixed orthodontic treatment. Methods: Individuals aged 14–18 years who presented to the Faculty of Dentistry at Adıyaman University were randomly assigned to the multimedia information group (MIG) and written information groups (WIG). Before the appointment for bonding, educational information was provided to the MIG and WIG as an 8-minute informative multimedia video and written form, respectively. All participants completed the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory–State Anxiety and Dental Fear Index before and after the procedure. After the session, they were asked to rate their perceived pain using a visual analog scale and the number of questions they asked the clinician regarding the treatment was recorded. For statistical analyses, the Kolmogorov–Smirnov, chi-square, paired-sample t , Student t, and Mann–Whitney U tests were used. Results: No statistically significant differences in anxiety, fear, or pain scores were observed between the groups before and after the session (P > 0.05). Both groups exhibited no significant change in the anxiety scores between the two time points (P > 0.05), but exhibited significantly reduced fear scores (P < 0.05). Only the MIG demonstrated significant sex-related differences before the treatment session (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Although the effects of multimedia and written education on the anxiety and fear scores exhibited no significant different, multimedia education may have reduced the chair time by decreasing the number of questions posed by the patients.