Impact of temperament on child behavior in the dental setting

Background and aims. Temperament has been suggested to be a predictive factor for the child’s reaction to dental treatment especially in young ages. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between temperament and child behavior in relation to age in the dental setting. Materials and methods. In this descriptive-analytical study, 190 children, aged 1 to 7 years, who visited dentist for the first time, were included. Early Childhood Behavior Questionnaire (ECBQ) for 18-36 month-olds and Child Behavioral Questionnaire (CBQ) for 3-7 year-old children were completed. Child behavior was rated during dental treatment using Frankl scale. Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was used to examine normal distribution of the population. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and ANOVA, Chi Square and Pearson’s correlation coefficient. P< 0.05 was considered as significance level. Results. 58 children (29.6%) had completely negative behavior and 27 children (13.8%) had completely positive behavior during the treatment. 65% of the children aged 1 to 3 years had completely negative behavior while this figure was 20% for the children aged 6 to 7 years. Temperament score for the children with completely positive behavior was 257.95 while it was 299.37 for children with completely negative behavior. As the temperament score increased, child behavior rank was lower.Conclusion. Age and temperament seem to act as predictors of child behavior in the dental setting.