Understanding children’s dental anxiety and psychological approaches to its reduction

Abstract

This article will consider the prevalence, development, and implications of children's dental anxiety. It will also discuss the opportunities for and challenges of psychological approaches such as cognitive behavioural therapy aimed at the reduction of dental anxiety in children.

Demystifying behaviour and dental anxiety in schoolchildren during endodontic treatment for primary teeth—controlled clinical trial

“…In this study, behaviour was associated with the need for restraint during a previous dental appointment. This suggests that an unpleasant past dental experience is a predictor of a child's cooperation, as difficult treatment and lack of a bond with the professional hinder a child's acceptance of dental treatment . This finding underscores the importance regular visits to the dentist for the purposes of prevention when a child is young so that he/she will be more likely to accept an invasive treatment due to the understanding that it is for his/her own good .…”

“…This suggests that an unpleasant past dental experience is a predictor of a child's cooperation, as difficult treatment and lack of a bond with the professional hinder a child's acceptance of dental treatment . This finding underscores the importance regular visits to the dentist for the purposes of prevention when a child is young so that he/she will be more likely to accept an invasive treatment due to the understanding that it is for his/her own good . Moreover, the fact that children who exhibited difficult behaviour during a previous dental appointment demonstrated dental anxiety may be explained by the memory of the past negative experience and the expectation that the current experience will occur in the same manner …”

“…Since some dentists perform extraction of teeth with indication of pulpectomy, claiming that the endodontic treatment leads to negative behaviour of the child . When there are these options, it could assist in the decision‐making process regarding the proper clinical conduct and acceptance of the child with proposed treatment …”

Factors for determining dental anxiety in preschool children with severe dental caries

“…Thus, it could be expected that children with more siblings may be susceptible to negative thoughts, which might have an impact on their dental anxiety. 5,23 One study showed that in children with siblings, the first-born child was at increased risk of developing negative behavior and dental anxiety. 24 We did not have birth-order information for the children recruited children in this study.…”

Tourette syndrome and procedures related to dental treatment: a systematic review

“…This recommendation could also be applicable to the normal clinical dental setting where anxiety most commonly is reduced by thorough information and the acceptance of the procedures carried out. However, an individual approach is always necessary to identify the factors provoking the anxiety . On the basis of the reports in the literature and thus of the present review, it is not possible to provide general recommendations regarding stress reducing procedures in TS patients in a clinical dental setting with or without sedation or under GA.…”