Anxiety in the Pediatric Dental Clinic: Use of Informative and Aversive Behavior Management Techniques

Abstract

Objectives: To measure dental anxiety in children, determine its association with behavior exhibited during treatment and evaluate the use of informative and aversive behavior management techniques. Material and Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out with 51 children aged 6-12 years submitted to restorative dental procedures at the pediatric dental clinic of the Franciscano University Center (Brazil) between May and December 2013. Anxiety was measured using the Venham Picture Test and behavior during treatment was analyzed using the Frankl Behavior Scale. Variables were submitted to descriptive statistics. The chi-square test was used to determine associations between anxiety and categorical variables, considering associations with p-value p ≤ 0.05 to be statistically significant. Results: Twelve children (23.5%) exhibited anxiety prior to dental procedure. Anxiety was not significantly associated with age (p=0.669), gender (p=0.478), behavior during treatment (p=0.915) or behavioral management techniques (p=0.701). Moreover, no significant association was found between changes in the level of anxiety after procedure and the behavior management techniques used during treatment (p=0.828). Conclusion: A high percentage of children exhibited dental anxiety. However, anxiety prior to dental procedure was not associated with any of the variables analyzed and no association was found between changes in the level of anxiety after procedure and the informative or aversive behavior management techniques used during treatment.