Robin O, Alaoui-Ismaïli O, Dittmar A, Vernet-Maury E
Département de physiologie, Faculté d'Odontologie, Université Claude Bernard, Lyon I, France.
J Dent Res. 1998 Aug;77(8):1638-46. doi: 10.1177/00220345980770081201.
Among the factors which could explain avoidance behavior toward dental care, the typical clinging odor of the dental office, due to eugenol, is investigated in this study. The hypothesis is supported by the well-known effects of odorants which may influence cognition, emotion, and behavior. The association between the odor of eugenol and dental fear and anxiety could be explained by the fact that eugenates (eugenol-containing cements) are often used in potentially painful restorative dentistry on vital teeth. The emotional impact of the odors of eugenol and two other dental products (menthol and methyl methacrylate) was evaluated on volunteer subjects through autonomic nervous system (ANS) analysis by recording the variations of six ANS parameters (two electrodermal, two thermovascular, and two cardiorespiratory) induced by the inhalation of the odorants. After the experiment, subjects were asked to fill out an 11-point hedonic scale to rate the pleasantness vs. unpleasantness for each odorant. Results were compared between two groups of subjects divided according to their own dental experience (fearful and non-fearful dental-care subjects). These showed that, in both groups, menthol was rated as pleasant and methyl methacrylate as very unpleasant, whereas eugenol was judged pleasant by non-fearful subjects but unpleasant by fearful subjects. Concerning autonomic analysis, only eugenol induced significantly different patterns of ANS responses between the two groups, with stronger variations for dentally fearful subjects, mainly observed through the electrodermal channel. These results suggest that eugenol can be responsible for different emotional states, depending on the unpleasantness of the subjects' dental experience. This seems to confirm the role of odors as elicitors of emotional memories and to support the possible influence of eugenol odor on the avoidance behavior of some subjects toward dental care.
在可能解释对牙科护理回避行为的因素中，本研究调查了牙科诊所因丁香酚而产生的典型刺鼻气味。这一假设得到了气味剂可能影响认知、情绪和行为的众所周知的效应的支持。丁香酚气味与牙科恐惧和焦虑之间的关联可以通过以下事实来解释：丁香酚制剂（含丁香酚的粘固剂）常用于对活髓牙进行可能引起疼痛的修复牙科治疗。通过记录吸入气味剂引起的六个自主神经系统（ANS）参数（两个皮肤电、两个热血管和两个心肺参数）的变化，对志愿者受试者进行自主神经系统分析，评估丁香酚和其他两种牙科产品（薄荷醇和甲基丙烯酸甲酯）气味的情绪影响。实验结束后，要求受试者填写一份11级享乐量表，对每种气味剂的愉悦度与不愉悦度进行评分。根据受试者自身的牙科经历（害怕牙科护理的受试者和不害怕牙科护理的受试者）将两组受试者的结果进行比较。结果显示，在两组中，薄荷醇被评为愉悦，甲基丙烯酸甲酯被评为非常不愉悦，而丁香酚在不害怕的受试者中被判定为愉悦，但在害怕的受试者中被判定为不愉悦。关于自主分析，只有丁香酚在两组之间引起了显著不同的自主神经系统反应模式，牙科恐惧受试者的变化更强，主要通过皮肤电通道观察到。这些结果表明，根据受试者牙科经历的不愉快程度，丁香酚可能导致不同的情绪状态。这似乎证实了气味作为情绪记忆引发因素的作用，并支持了丁香酚气味可能对一些受试者回避牙科护理行为产生的影响。
