AIM: Dental anxiety and well-being significantly influence patients' oral health and quality of life. This study investigated whether providing paper information leaflets (PILs) before performing dental procedures improved psychological well-being and reduced anxiety in Czech patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This parallel-group, single-blind randomized, prospective clinical trial was conducted at a private dental clinic in the Czech Republic in 2020. A total of 167 adult patients were randomly assigned to either the experimental group (n = 82), receiving both verbal information and a PIL, or the control group (n = 85), receiving only verbal information before their dental procedure (fillings, endodontic treatment, prosthetic restorations, or extractions). Pre- and post-procedure psychological well-being and anxiety were assessed using study-specific questionnaires. Data analysis was conducted in R using RStudio, with a significance level set at P < 0.05. Between-group differences were assessed while controlling for gender and education. Linear regression was used to analyze pre-procedure anxiety, and logistic regression was used to analyze post-procedure well-being outcomes (reporting "everything was fine," "unpleasant mouth sensations," and "quick adjustment"). The Benjamini-Hochberg correction was applied to control for multiple comparisons. Sensitivity analysis used the "best-worst and worst-best case" method to evaluate nonrandom missing data. Power analysis determined a minimum of 64 participants per group for a two-tailed t test. RESULTS: Baseline anxiety levels, measured on a 1-6 scale, were similar between the PIL group (mean 4.26, SD 1.11) and the control group (mean 4.36, SD 1.17; β = -0.11, P = 0.54). Post-procedure, while fewer patients in the PIL group reported that "everything was fine" (28/82 vs. 39/85), this difference was not statistically significant after correction for multiple comparisons (uncorrected P = 0.038, αFDR = 0.01). No significant differences were found between groups regarding "unpleasant mouth sensations" (P = 0.84) or "quick adjustment" (P = 0.52). CONCLUSION: Providing PILs in addition to verbal information did not significantly impact pre-procedure anxiety or post-procedure well-being in this sample of Czech dental patients. These findings indicate that verbal communication alone may be sufficient for managing patient anxiety and promoting well-being in this context. Further research using validated instruments and exploring different communication strategies is warranted.

1st Faculty of Medicine Charles University Prague General University Hospital Prague Czech Republic

DYS centrum Praha z ú Czech Republic

Faculty of Medicine in Pilsen Charles University Czech Republic

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