The effect of the parental presence-absence technique on children’s behaviour in the dental clinic

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ABSTRACT

Background

The presence of the parent could influence the behaviour of the child during the dental visit. The objective of this study was to assess the effect of the Parental Presence- Absence Technique (PPAT) on the behaviour of anxious children receiving dental restoration under local anaesthesia.

Methods

A cohort prospective observational study of a statistically calculated sample size with 80% power, recruited 84 anxious children ages 6–9-year-old who scored ≥26 on the Abeer Children Dental Anxiety Scale (ACDAS) over two visits. Forty-two children were allocated to either the Parental Presence (PP) or the Parental Absence (PA) group to have one composite restoration under local anaesthesia. Statistical analysis: A two-sample t-test was used to compare differences in the mean of ACDAS between the PP and the PA groups, and between boys and girls. The P-value of ≤0.05 was set for a statistically significant result.

Results

A higher dental anxiety score on ACDAS was reported in the PP group than in the PA group (p< 0.001 and the 95% confidence interval (CI) was -0.81 to -0.28). There was no significant difference in the mean of ACDAS between boys and girls (p=0.47 and the 95% CI was -0.25 to -0.38).

Conclusion

The use of the PPAT in children aged 6-9- year appears to be an effective method to improve children’s behaviour when having dental restorations under local anaesthesia.

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