The Awareness of the Medical and House Officers about Child Management at Omdurman Military Dental Hospital (Sudan) in 2020

Abstract

Back ground: The first dental visit is crucial in the formation of the child’s attitude toward dentistry and future treatment success. A dental appointment is a stressful situation, which raises children’s anxiety level and avoidance behavior. Several behavioral management approaches have been practiced to reduce distress during dental treatment, such as tell show-do, distraction, modeling, hypnotism, and pharmacological means. Objective: To assess the awareness of the dentists (house and medical officers) about child management at Omdurman Military Hospital in 2020. Methods: A destructive cross sectional study, with a sample size of 104 medical and house officers were recruited into the study. Data was collected using a self-administrated closed- ended questionnaire. The questionnaire included demographic (age, gender, residence) and other parts that included awareness about knowledge and attitude regarding child management. Data was analyzed with the aid of Microsoft Excel and the SPSS version 25.0 statistical software program (SPSS, Inc., USA).Results were presented in the form of tables, figures and, texts. Results: The results of this study showed that (95%) of participants studied child behavior management in their curriculum. However, (44%) of them got their knowledge from the internet. The majority of dentists used the Tell- Show- Do technique (68%), and (53%) of the participants in this study thought that parent presence during the treatment was necessary. Also, about (90%) of participants thought that the use of audiovisual methods during treatment was useful, and (96%) of them thought that the first visit impression was a critical issue for ultimate success in future treatment. 45 % of participants had awareness about child management. Conclusion: The tell show do technique is the most used technique among house officers and medical officers in Omdurman military hospital , presence of parents is important as well as using advance technique , 45% of the participants had awareness about child management.