Evaluation of relationship between the children's dental fear and cooperation during dental treatment with the parents’ general health

The children's cooperation level affects choosing the appropriate treatment plan and the outcome. Undoubtedly, they have the most communication with parents, whose attention towards the children's oral health is increasingly growing. This study evaluated the relationship between the children's dental fear and cooperation with their parents' general health. This cross-sectional descriptive study was done on 193 children in two age groups of 4-6 and 6-12-year-old. The Children's Fear Survey Schedule Dental Subscale (CFSS-DS) and Frankle's behavior rating scale were used to respectively assess the children’s dental fear and degree of cooperation with dental examinations and practices. Moreover, the parents' personality traits and general health was assessed by using the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ). Statistical analyses were done by using SPSS software through T-test and ANOVA. The parents' general health rate was 68.2% in the group with dental fear and 65.9% in the group who had no dental fear, with no significant difference. Nor was it correlated with the child's cooperation level (P=0.830). Dental fear was not correlated with sex, as it was reported by 14.2% of boys and 8.1% of girls (P=0.193). However, Frankle's rate revealed a significant correlation between the children's age and cooperation; the older group being far more cooperative than the youngers (P=0.02). The current findings revealed that there is no significant relationship between the parents' general health and the children’s cooperation. Yet, the children's age is directly correlated with their level of cooperation.