Introduction
orofacial disorders, anxiety
DISEASE
Oral medicine is the main speciality, together with maxillofacial surgery, dealing with severe and on occasions life-threatening orofacial disorders or outcomes; it, therefore, elicits states of fear and anxiety in patients (Patients with a specific phobia often experience intense and immediate fear and/or anxiety prior to dental treatment and/or an oral biopsy. Their psychological state of stress and discomfort usually develops when they are in the waiting room, to possibly include negative intrusive thoughts (e.g., "it will hurt, I will be diagnosed with a terrible disease")(The term graphic medicine was coined by a group of researchers, clinicians, and artists with the aim of exploring this new subfield of research and practice (Researchers are becoming increasingly interested in graphic narratives, with which to convey persuasive public health messages (e.g., Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2011). Narratives with comics also continue to emerge as effective communication tools of public health (The visual narratives which can be considered most relevant to the study of graphic medicine are comic books in their various guises. Graphic medicine examines the use of sequential (but not always narratively linear) visual storytelling, with which to share health-related experiences or information (Consequently, graphic novels have been applied to several fields, including: oncology (The objective of the present study was to evaluate - for the first time in the literature - the efficacy of colourful graphic novels in reducing the anxiety of adult patients waiting for an incisional biopsy in an oral oncology setting.