Abstract
AimBehavior management techniques (BMTs) efficiently deliver dental treatment to children with dental anxiety. The objective of this quasi-experimental study was to examine whether the efficacy of BMTs applied for the improvement of compliance in pediatric patients differs between children 3–10-year-olds from single-child and multi-child families.Materials and MethodsIn this quasi-experimental, 197 caregiver-child couples were divided into two groups: single-child group (116 couples) and multi-child group (81 couples). Children's pre- and post-treatment anxiety levels were measured by facial mood scale (FMS) and Frankl Behavior Rating Scale (FBRS), respectively.Caregivers' dental anxiety was measured by the Chinese version of the Modified Dental Anxiety Scale (MDAS), which was included in the self-designed questionnaire. Data were analyzed by using the Mann-Whitney U-test, chi-square tests, and binary multivariate regression analysis.ResultsThere was no statistically significant difference in the demographic characteristics of the children between the two groups. BMTs were found to be capable of reducing children's dental anxiety (CDA): the compliance rate was 45.69–88.79% in the single-child group and 44.44–85.79% in the multi-child group pre- and post-BMTs, but there was no significant difference in the change of compliance between the two groups (p > 0.05). In the subgroup analysis, parenting style (odds ratio [OR] = 0.054, p < 0.05) and father's education (OR = 8.19, p < 0.05) affected the varies of children's compliance in the single-child group. In contrast, in the multi-child group, gender (OR = 8.004, p < 0.05) and mother's occupation (OR = 0.017, p < 0.05) were associated with these changes in compliance.ConclusionsIn this study, BMTs were proved to be beneficial in improving compliance in 3- to 10-year-olds children in dental treatment. Though there was no significant difference in the change of compliance between children from single-child and multi-child families, different associated factors may affect the two groups. Therefore, the related family factors should be taken into account when professionals manage each child's behavior in dental practice.
Highlights
Children’s dental anxiety (CDA) refers to a feeling or anticipation that something will happen, combined with a sense of losing control to dentistry, which is one of the major challenges in pediatric dentistry [1]
We found that the odds ratio (OR) of Behavior management techniques (BMTs) in improving compliance of children from the single-child group was higher than that of children from the multi-child group, while the difference was not statistically significant in all three models (p > 0.05)
What was the association about the effectiveness of BMTs with the presence of siblings? Our study aimed to explore the effectiveness of BMTs in reducing dental anxiety in children from single-child and multi-child families and to assess influencing factors in the two types of families
Summary
Children’s dental anxiety (CDA) refers to a feeling or anticipation that something will happen, combined with a sense of losing control to dentistry, which is one of the major challenges in pediatric dentistry [1]. Due to the different target populations and designs, the prevalence of CDA among children was reported differently: ranging from 6.3 [2] to 93.8% [3]. Childhood dental anxiety was proved as one of the predictors associated with oral health-related quality of life (OHRQOL) via path analysis [5]. Several interacting complicated etiologies may contribute to the acquisition of CDA, such as age, culture, environment, psychology, cognition, and family factors [6–12]. The term “dental anxiety” is often used to include all types of dental fear and phobias [13]. How to prevent or intercept CDA remains a great challenge for dental professionals
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