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

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. 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.