Childrens Perception towards Non-Pharmacologic Behavior Management Techniques - An Evaluative Study

Objective: Pediatric dentistry understands that the behavior guidance of the child cannot be separated from the quality of dental work. A child's willingness in accepting dental treatment is as important as the parents', if not more. This study aimed to evaluate the children's attitude towards different non-pharmacologic behavior guidance techniques adopted by the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry using the line of favor. Methods: A total of 100, 6-12 years old children were selected; 50 from private schools and 50 from public schools. Each child was asked to watch 7 videos of non-pharmacologic behavior guidance techniques which include: tell-show-do, positive reinforcement, distraction, non-verbal communication, parental presence/absence, protective stabilization and voice control. After watching the videos, children were asked to express their feeling towards each technique by drawing a line of favor. Results: In both the private and public schools, the gender didn't affect the acceptability of behavior guidance techniques among children. For the two study groups, positive reinforcement was the most accepted technique with statistically significant difference in favor of private schools, while voice control was the least accepted technique with statistically significant difference in favor of public schools. Conclusion: Children's opinion should always be considered as they are the one receiving the treatment. Positive reinforcement was the most accepted technique, while protective stabilization and voice control were the least accepted.