Abstract

Behavior management is a fundamental constituent for provision of dental treatment to children and parental understanding of different techniques is crucial for acceptance.

Objective: To evaluate the parental perceptions and attitudes towards different behavior management techniques commonly employed by dentists.

Methodology: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted using a self-structured questionnaire. Data was collected from 134 parents accompanying their children (aged 5-10 years) for dental treatment. Descriptive and inferential analyses were carried out using SPSS v21.

Results: Among the 134 parents, 41.7% were males and 58.3% were females. The mean age of the children included in the study was 6.67 (SD+ 0.92) of which 44.02% were males and 55.9% were females. In addressing non-cooperation during dental procedures 30.1% of the parents would opt to defer the treatment and 24.4% expressed a preference for the dentist to perform the procedure forcefully. A majority of 86.5% expressed the desire to accompany their child during the dental treatment. The most acceptable technique by the parents was Tell-Show-Do and live modeling followed by positive reinforcement while treatment under general anesthesia was the least acceptable.

Conclusion: Parents prefer using less aggressive techniques like Tell-Show-Do, modeling and positive reinforcement for the management of their children and the majority want to accompany the child during the treatment. The parents’ least accepted technique is treatment under general anesthesia. A thorough understanding of parental desires promotes a healthy dentist-parent relationship.

Key words: Behavior therapy, Parental consent, Dentist-patient relationship, Pediatric Dentistry, Behavior management techniques