From anxiety to calm — transformation

SEC Film Research Study

Dental Anxiety Therapy using Self-Empowerment Cinematography

A clinical trial investigating whether a short daily film can reduce dental anxiety over 90 days — conducted by Restore Dental in collaboration with UQ School of Dentistry.

4 minutes per day 90-day program Fully confidential UQ-affiliated research

About the Study

Self-Empowerment Cinematography (SEC) is a 4-minute evidence-based film designed to help manage dental anxiety through self-empowerment techniques. The SEC Film Research Study measures whether daily viewing over 90 days produces meaningful, clinically significant reductions in dental anxiety using the internationally validated IDAF-4C+ questionnaire.

Your anxiety scores are collected before and after the program, allowing our research team to track improvement. All data is stored securely and fully de-identified using an anonymous participant ID.

The mind and dental anxiety research

How It Works

Step 1 — Register

Complete our brief dental anxiety questionnaire (IDAF-4C+) and provide informed consent.

Step 2 — Watch Daily

Log in each day and watch the 4-minute SEC Film for 90 consecutive days.

Step 3 — Final Assessment

Complete a post-study questionnaire so we can measure your improvement.

Eligibility

To participate in this study, you must:

  • Be 16 years of age or older
  • Be able to read and understand English
  • Experience some level of dental anxiety (assessed via our brief questionnaire)

Research Team

Dr Ian Davies
BDSC (Hons) QLD
Dentist at Restore Dental and Prosthodontics
A/Professor Ratilal Lalloo
University of Queensland
BChD, BSc Med Hons (Epidemiol), MChD (Community Dentistry), PhD (Dental Public Health – London)
Discipline Lead: Dental Public Health, Director (Research Training)
Contact: For questions about the study, please email info@secfilmresearch.com.au
SEC Film Research
Step 1 of 5 — Eligibility & Registration
1
Register
2
Assessment
3
Consent
4
Your ID
5
Watch Film

Your Details

Please provide your details. We'll check your eligibility before you proceed to the assessment.

Unable to Participate

If you believe this is an error, please contact the research team at
info@secfilmresearch.com.au

SEC Film Research
Step 2 of 5 — Dental Anxiety Assessment (IDAF-4C+)
Register
2
Assessment
3
Consent
4
Your ID
5
Watch Film
Please answer all questions honestly. Your responses determine eligibility and form your baseline measurement. There are no right or wrong answers — this simply measures how dental anxiety affects you.

Section 1 — Dental Anxiety Module

8 items · 5-point scale

Rate how much you agree with each of the following statements about dental visits.

Section 2 — Diagnostic Criteria

5 items · Yes / No

Answer Yes or No for each of the following statements.

Section 3 — Stimulus Generalisation

10 items · 5-point scale

Rate how anxious or fearful you feel about each of the following dental scenarios.

Your Score

—
Answer all 23 questions to see your score

Below Study Threshold

Your IDAF-4C+ score of is below the 2.5 threshold required to participate in this study.

This suggests your dental anxiety level is relatively low — which is great news! However, this study specifically targets individuals with moderate-to-high dental anxiety to measure the treatment effect.

Thank you for your interest. If you feel your anxiety was not accurately captured by the questionnaire, please contact us at info@secfilmresearch.com.au.

SEC Film Research
Step 4 of 5 — Registration Complete
Register
Assessment
Consent
4
Your ID
5
Watch Film

Welcome to the Study!

Thank you for registering, . Your participation is greatly valued and contributes directly to dental anxiety research in Australia.

YOUR ANONYMOUS PARTICIPANT ID
Please save this ID — you will use it to log back in each day.
A confirmation email has been sent to with your participant ID and instructions for getting started.
SEC Film Research
Step 5 of 5 — Before You Begin
Register
Assessment
Consent
Your ID
5
Watch Film

Viewing Instructions

1

You are watching 'The Climb' in the Dental Anxiety SEC Film (First Person Video Camera Effect) daily for 90 days. Headphones are required for the full audio experience.

2

It is important that you, "the viewer", have the perception in your mind's eye that you are achieving 'The Climb'.

3

You overcome obstacles and challenges every time when watching 'The Climb' which increases your confidence and decreases your fear of a stressful situation that is being linked to dentistry.

4

Absorb yourself in 'The Climb' while taking in the various positive affirmations regarding dental treatment.

5

Repetitious viewing disables the fear reaction in the fear center of the brain (Amygdala) making it easier to absorb new positive affirmations about dental care.

6

Your negative self-limiting beliefs are rewritten on a sub-conscious level by reading the embedded positive affirmations in the SEC Film on a daily basis and ultimately align with the conscious desires and beliefs.

7

It takes approximately 90 repetitions to re-wire the brain into this new positive response.

Why It Works

This intervention has been carefully designed to create the perfect situation for the fear response in your mind to be re-trained to take on a much healthier and calmer response to dental treatment. It takes less than 4 minutes to watch the film. The process may seem simple, but it is very effective when used consistently, as shown with some of my patients who have already used this intervention. Do not be concerned if all the affirmations do not resonate with you. We are targeting dental anxiety from many different aspects and you are probably not aware of all the subconscious reasons behind your dental anxiety. Let them all be absorbed in the process.

This treatment is based on the theory of neuroplasticity where the brain undergoes remodeling and remapping of the neurosynaptic organisation. Habits and beliefs in our long-term memory can be challenged through a learning process to allow a new habit and belief to be formed. Like any new process of learning, such as driving a car or learning a new sport, it takes time for the brain to adapt and rewire. All sports and hobbies take time to learn before you start to do things automatically. The same process applies here where repetitive viewing is needed to enable your new healthier response to dental treatment to be learnt and adopted by your subconscious mind.

The SEC process takes an individual through a guided imagery experience with a musical immersion to enhance the sensory engagement with the audiovisual material. The hypnotic induction of immersing one's experience into the material helps induce one into a focused concentration where the unconscious mind can adopt new beliefs and habits and overcome unwanted fears and destructive habits.

The SEC film uses safe behaviour altering techniques, using embedded affirmations, allowing an individual to gradually believe in the affirmation and adopt them as if they are already true. This is designed to create positive subconscious beliefs and allow you to abandon or overwrite undesired behaviours and habits.

SEC Film Research
Daily Viewing — Participant

SEC Film — Day 1 of 90

0
Views completed
90
Remaining
0
Day streak
I confirm I have watched today's SEC Film in its entirety
You'll receive a daily reminder email if you haven't watched today's film.

View Log

No views recorded yet

Viewing Instructions

1

You are watching 'The Climb' in the Dental Anxiety SEC Film (First Person Video Camera Effect) daily for 90 days. Headphones are required for the full audio experience.

2

It is important that you, "the viewer", have the perception in your mind's eye that you are achieving 'The Climb'.

3

You overcome obstacles and challenges every time when watching 'The Climb' which increases your confidence and decreases your fear of a stressful situation that is being linked to dentistry.

4

Absorb yourself in 'The Climb' while taking in the various positive affirmations regarding dental treatment.

5

Repetitious viewing disables the fear reaction in the fear center of the brain (Amygdala) making it easier to absorb new positive affirmations about dental care.

6

Your negative self-limiting beliefs are rewritten on a sub-conscious level by reading the embedded positive affirmations in the SEC Film on a daily basis and ultimately align with the conscious desires and beliefs.

7

It takes approximately 90 repetitions to re-wire the brain into this new positive response.

SEC Film Research
Step 5 of 5 — Post-Study Assessment
Register
Assessment
Consent
Your ID
5
Assessment
Congratulations on completing 90 days! Please answer the same questionnaire again so we can measure how your dental anxiety has changed.

Section 1 — Dental Anxiety Module

8 items · 5-point scale

Rate how much you agree with each of the following statements about dental visits.

Section 2 — Diagnostic Criteria

5 items · Yes / No

Answer Yes or No for each of the following statements.

Section 3 — Stimulus Generalisation

10 items · 5-point scale

Rate how anxious or fearful you feel about each of the following dental scenarios.

Post-Study Score

—
Answer all 23 questions to see your score

Exit Survey

A few final questions about your experience with the SEC Film program.

1. How would you describe your overall experience with the dental anxiety treatment?
2. Do you feel more confident and at ease when thinking about dental visits now that you have completed the treatment?
3. Have you noticed any specific changes in your emotions or physical sensations when you think about going to the dentist after completing the treatment?
4. Are you more likely to schedule and follow through with dental appointments now that you have completed the treatment? Why or why not?
5. How do you feel about the overall success of the treatment in addressing your dental anxiety?
6. Have you noticed any positive changes in your oral health or dental hygiene habits as a result of completing the treatment?
7. Have you been to the dentist since completing the SEC film intervention? If so, how was your experience?

Thank You!

Your post-study assessment has been submitted. Your contribution to this research is genuinely appreciated and will help improve the lives of people affected by dental anxiety across Australia.

YOUR PARTICIPANT ID

A completion confirmation has been sent to your email. The research team will be in contact if any follow-up is needed.

SEC Film Research
Returning Participant

Welcome Back

Enter your participant ID or email address to access your daily video.

Not registered yet? Register for the study

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