Identification And Assessment of Factors Predicting Behaviour of The Child in The First Dental Visit.

Abstract

Introduction

Dental anxiety is one of the commonest problems which inherently develops during childhood and adolescence period of growth. This widely acclaimed challenge is not only faced by the dental professionals but also act as a major hindrance for parents and assisting dental personnels. This inturn leads to difficulty in devising an adequate treatment protocol in managing the child. Therefore timely evaluation of child’s dental anxiety and identifying the contributing factors prior to receiving treatment act as a major key in establishing the success of the treatment.

Aim

This study was conducted to identify various factors and their influence on behvaioural management in children.

Materials and Methods

A questionnaire study was conducted to identify various factors and their influence on behvioural management in children. The predetermined questionnaire included two sections respectively Section A, which determined the behavior of the child with respect to social parameters and subsequently the child’s behavior was classified according to Frankl classification. Section B specified the existing parental attitude and perception to the child’s varying modalities and anxiety.

Results

The study confirmed that 29.7% of children exhibited incidences of dental anxiety during their first dental treatment. Among the various contributing factors the study determined that maternal anxiety and unwanted threatening of child with regards to conveying the fear of pulling out child’s teeth destabilizes child’s behaviour in dental office.

Conclusions

Thorough knowledge regarding information on the origin of dental anxiety and uncooperative behavior in a child prior to treatment will help the pediatric dentist in devising an adequate treatment plan and behavior management strategies accordingly. Thus a well-defined pretreatment interview might aid the dentist in planning appropriate treatment modalities adequately.