Fear and anxiety related to dental treatment experience in children

Objective: To assess the level of fear and anxiety amongst children attending public dental clinics and the behavior management strategies utilized by oral health care professionals in Fiji; Method: Children under 12 years of age who presented to dental clinics in Western and Central divisions of Fiji were randomly selected to participate in this study. The participants were given a baseline visual analogue scale for pain and Corah's Dental Anxiety and visual analogue scale for anxiety before and after treatment. A checklist was used to record the behaviour strategies used by the oral health professional; Results: Altogether 60 children participated in this study. The mean anxiety levels at baseline was (5.5±2.9), during treatment (7.6±1.6) and after treatment was (3.3±2.0). The mean pain level at baseline (8.2±2.0), during treatment (5.1±2.5) and after treatment was (1.6±2.0). Children who were regular dental attendees (4.3±3.1) showed lower levels of anxiety compared to children who were irregular attendees (6.0±2.4). Also higher levels of anxiety was recorded in children whose reason for visit was a painful tooth (6.0±2.4), conservative treatment (4.6±2.4) and those for a routine dental visit (3.3±3.8). The most commonly used behaviour management technique by oral health professionals was tell-show-do, followed by voice control and active restraint. The least commonly used strategies were non-verbal communication and distraction. Conclusion: Children presenting to the dental clinics experienced high levels of fear anxiety before treatment and the levels were higher in those presenting with pain when compared to those presenting for a ‘check up' only. Active restraint is still being used as a behaviour management technique by oral health care professionals in Fiji.