0-3 -Year-Old Children's Behavior at their First Dental Consultation

Objectives: Little is known about the evolution of young children's behavior during their first dental consultation. This clinical trial (NCT00902395) assessed the behavior of children 0-3 years old presenting with early childhood caries during their first dental consultation. Methods: Two pediatric dentists performed a standardized dental exam on 54 healthy children, 13 to 39 months (27.2±6.3) of age who were referred for dental rehabilitation under moderate sedation or general anesthesia to the Dental School of the Federal University of Goias, Brazil. One trained observer assessed children's behavior in the reception area every minute during the dental exam, which included professional prophylaxis and fluoride application, and at the end of the procedure, recorded the scores according to the Ohio State University Behavior Rating Scale (OSUBRS): 1- No crying or movement; 2- Crying without movement; 3- Movement without crying; 4- Crying and movement. Heart rate was measured at the same interval with a pulse oximeter. Data were analyzed using the Friedman, Wilcoxon, Mann-Whitney and Spearman tests. Results: Dental exam lasted 13.1±4.9 minutes. In the reception room, 59.3% of the children were calm, with a heart rate of 102.2±25.9 beats per minute (bpm); during the exam, 63.0% of children cried and struggled (around 20.0% were calm); after this, 50.0% returned to normal (35.2% were still struggling); these changes were significant (P<0.001). Heart rate did not change during the course of the exam (P>0.05). Children's age, but not gender or exam duration, correlated with OSUBRS scores (Spearman rho coefficient -0.320, P=0.018). Conclusion: Most of the children with dental caries presented extremely negative behavior during their dental exam, and more than one third had moved forcefully and was crying by the end of the consultation. Older children presented less negative behavior. Support: CNPq 480736/2009-0.