A Comparative Study on the Effects of Different Informing Methods on Parental Acceptance of Pediatric Behavior Management Techniques

Parental acceptance is an important parameter in selecting the proper behavior management technique during pediatric dental treatment. The present study aimed to compare the effects of different informing methods on acceptance of parents about behavior management techniques used in pediatric dentistry.

This quasi-experimental study was conducted on one 162 parents of 3-7-year-old uncooperative children who were candidates for dental treatment. They were randomly divided into three groups. Their acceptance about six behavior management techniques including general anesthesia, voice control, hand-over-mouth, parental separation, active and passive physical restraint were assessed by a questionnaire. After determining the level of acceptance, the information about the techniques was presented through three ways include writing, verbal and visual methods. Finally, their acceptance of each technique and the reasons for non-acceptance were re-evaluated. Data were analyzed in SPSS v.23 software using ANOVA and t-test.

 This study obtained its ethical approval from the Research Ethics Committee of Arak University of Medical Sciences under code: IR.ARAKMU.REC.1398.102.

 The informing methods significantly increased the parents’ acceptance about behavior management techniques. According to the ANOVA results, the effect of visual presentation method in general anesthesia technique was significantly lower than that of other methods (P<0.05), while its effect in active physical restraint technique was significantly greater than that of other methods (P<0.05). There was no statistically significant difference between the effects of informing methods in other behavior management techniques.

 Informing parents about pediatric behavior management techniques increase their acceptance. Informing by visual presentation is the most effective method for increasing their acceptance of physical restraint technique, while in their acceptance of general anesthesia technique other informing methods are more effective