Therapy Dog Improved Plaque Control in Children With Disabilities in Randomized Trial

Posted: November 12, 2026

Therapy Dog Improved Plaque Control in Children With Disabilities in Randomized Trial

Edited by Hygienetown staff

Children with disabilities who had an oral hygiene session with a trained therapy dog present showed a greater reduction in plaque than those treated in a standard dental setting, according to a randomized clinical trial published Nov. 9 in the International Journal of Dental Hygiene.

The trial included 80 patients aged 5 to 16 with disabilities, poor oral hygiene, and limited or no ability to cooperate with treatment. They were randomly assigned to an oral hygiene session with a trained therapy dog present or to the same session in a regular dental setup.

Researchers recorded plaque control record scores before and after the oral hygiene procedures, along with how the patients felt.

The decrease in plaque control record was significantly larger in the dog-assisted group (P < .001). Patients in that group also more often described feeling happy, interested, and calm (P = .002).

Structured animal-assisted services use trained dogs to encourage positive behavior during treatments that might otherwise cause anxiety, the authors noted. They concluded that the approach can be a useful option to improve emotional state and oral hygiene performance in pediatric patients with disabilities.

Jacopo Lanzetti, Francesco Pera, and colleagues at the University of Turin Dental School in Italy conducted the trial with a researcher from the Politecnico di Torino.

The abstract does not report the size of the plaque reductions in either group.

Sources:
International Journal of Dental Hygiene, “Effectiveness of Dog-Assisted Support to Promote Compliance and Home Oral Hygiene Activities in Disabled Patients: A Randomised Clinical Trial,” published online Nov. 9, 2026:
doi.org/10.1111/idh.70191
PubMed, PMID 43003775:
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/43003775


Therapy Dog Improved Plaque Control in Children With Disabilities in Randomized Trial

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