Abstract
BackgroundDrama and role play can be unlisted as methods to allow children to view problems from a range of different perspectives that may differ from their own experience. Application of drama technique to assess the cause of dental fear and anxiety in a school setting is novel.AimThe aim of this study was to engage primary school children in the core investigation via participatory arts methodologies, namely, process drama to gain understanding of the causes of dental anxiety.DesignSixty-three children, aged 7–10 years from three primary schools participated in this study. A 90-min drama workshop was carried in each school. The children were encouraged to identify the causes of dental anxiety using key concepts from process drama. The sessions were audio-recorded and transcribed.ResultsFour key concepts emerged: (1) fear of the unknown; (2) unpleasant sensory experience; (3) society’s perception and portrayal of the dentist; and (4) learnt negative associations with the dentist. Within each four key concepts, two sub-themes were identified.ConclusionsRole-playing and use of drama are a novel application and can reveal a considerable amount of information from the child’s perspective on the cause of dental fear and anxiety.
Highlights
Drama and role play can be unlisted as methods to allow children to view problems from a range of different perspectives that may differ from their own experience
There is a paucity of systematic reviews estimating the prevalence of dental anxiety in children and adolescents
Each workshop was planned by researcher (AO), Professor in Applied Performance with research expertise in participatory performance and drama, and it was facilitated by AO and another applied theatre specialist (NB) and assisted by one dental student (MM) and one paediatric dental specialist (JFT)
Summary
Drama and role play can be unlisted as methods to allow children to view problems from a range of different perspectives that may differ from their own experience. Application of drama technique to assess the cause of dental fear and anxiety in a school setting is novel. The children were encouraged to identify the causes of dental anxiety using key concepts from process drama. Conclusions Role-playing and use of drama are a novel application and can reveal a considerable amount of information from the child’s perspective on the cause of dental fear and anxiety. The systematic review by Klingberg and Broberg measured the prevalence and means score of DFA across a range of measures in children/adolescents (Klingberg and Broberg 2007). They showed the prevalence for DFA range from 5.7 to 19.5% (12 populations) with a mean over all applicable studies of 11.1%. Cianetti et al.’s study indicated that at least one child out of ten had a level of DFA that hindered his/her ability to tolerate dental treatment and that the prevalence decreased with increasing age (Cianetti et al 2017)
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