Parental Attitude and Acceptance of Behavior Management Techniques used in Pediatric Dentistry as Reported by Pediatric Dental Specialists: A Cross Sectional Survey

Abstract

Background: Behavior management acts as a pillar for laying the foundation of successful pediatric practice. Over the time, several Behavior Management Techniques (BMTs) have been used in clinical practice and parental viewpoint and acceptance of these techniques holds a prime importance in treatment of the child.

Aim: To assess the attitude and acceptance of parents regarding the behavior management techniques used in dental office.

Method: This was a cross sectional, self-constructed and validated close ended questionnaire responded by 192 dentists. The participants completed the questionnaire on parental preference of the behavior management techniques used with their child and the factors influencing their acceptance. The responses were in the form of categorial data which were converted to numerical data for statistical analysis. Obtained data was analyzed using Chi square test with SPSS version 20.0

Result: Most of the parents were aware (70.4%) but 31.3% of parents were hesitant or unwilling to accept the behavior management techniques. Tell show do (98.3%), live modeling (80%) and positive reinforcement (73.9%) were the most preferred techniques in both the groups. Most parents according to postgraduate dentists, preferred to stay in the operatory (75.5%). For multiple teeth treatment, the parents in pediatric dentists group opted single appointments more.

Conclusion: Enlightening the parents regarding BMTs resulted in their acceptant attitude and non- pharmacological techniques were preferred over pharmacological techniques. Factors like socio economic status, birth order of child and parent education showed a direct impact on level of parental acceptance.