Behavior guidance techniques in Pediatric Dentistry: attitudes of parents of children with disabilities and without disabilities

Abstract

This study compared the parental acceptance of pediatric behavior guidance techniques (BGT). Forty parents of children without disabilities (Group A) and another 40 parents of children with disabilities (Group B) were selected. Each BGT was explained by a single examiner and it was presented together with a photograph album. After that parents evaluated the acceptance in: totally unacceptable, somewhat acceptable, acceptable, and totally acceptable. Results indicated that in Group A, the BGT based on communicative guidance was accepted by most participants. In Group B, just one mother considered totally unacceptable the voice control method and other two, tell-show-do. For both groups, the general anesthesia was the less accepted BGT. There was statistically significant difference in acceptance for protective stabilization with a restrictive device in Group B. Children's parents with and without disabilities accepted behavioral guidance techniques, but basic techniques showed higher rates of acceptance than advanced techniques.

Which factors most influence referral for restorative dental treatment under sedation and general anaesthesia in children with complex disabilities: caries severity, child functioning, or dental service organisation?

“…This may affect treatment decisions, potentially increasing the use of techniques such as ART, or more negatively increasing the incidence of extractions. There is reason to believe that the factors influencing the final decision to refer to DGA or to sedation are multiple and that these factors act on different levels, not specifically captured by this study: the socioeconomic status of the children's family, immigrant background, dental anxiety, parents' and dental professionals' attitudes to sedation, availability of specialist dental clinics, and national organisation of oral disease prevention being a few such factors 9,[29][30][31][32][33] . Most of these may be at least partly compensated by a well-organised and well-financed dental health service.…”

Parental Presence/Absence in the Dental Operatory as a Behavior Management Technique: A Review and Modified View

“…Several studies have been attempted to investigate the attitude of parents toward BMTs. 10,14,21 Those studies concluded that most of the parents prefer to accompany their children in the dental operatory. 14,21 A dentist should understand that some parents would not agree on being separated from their children as they feel that they should protect them in the dental clinic.…”

“…10 Advanced BMTs include protective restraint, sedation, and general anesthesia, which require informed consent from the parents or legal guardian. 10 The BMTs should be learned and developed by all staff in the pediatric dental clinic, starting with the receptionist, who welcomes the parents and their child and ending with the pediatric dentist, who will perform the treatment. 6,7 Parental presence/absence is one of the nonpharmacological BMTs.…”

Parental acceptance toward behavior guidance techniques for pediatric dental visits: a meta-analysis

“…Seven studies evaluated the parents of SHCN children. The children were medically or physically compromised with neuropathological disorders 15 , with intellectual disabilities 16 , with physical or mental disabilities 17 , with physical or congenital disabilities, with mental, intelligence or behavioral deviations and/or systemic chronic diseases 18 with a range of disabilities including Down's Syndrome and cerebral palsy 19 . They also may have had autism 20 , and a cleft lip and/or palate 21 (Table 1).…”