Management techniques in pediatric dentistry: techniques to facilitate children’s dental treatment

Abstract

Anxiety is a reaction of the body, considered as an alarm emotion that is associated with feelings of fear anguish. The care in pediatric dentistry is surrounded by challenges, being necessary the psychological preparation of the child by the dentist, his assistants and those responsible for the patient. This literature review aimed to report the main behavioral management techniques to facilitate the collaboration of the child with dental treatment. This is a narrative review of the literature performed through the bibliographic survey using the descriptors Pediatric Dentistry; Childish behaviour; Behavioral management in PubMed, LILACS and SciELO databases. Articles were found in Portuguese and English between 2010 and 2020. Behavior management techniques are mechanisms available to the dentist. The choice of method should consider the stage of development of the child, and effectiveness of the method and acceptance of parents. Usually, the most used technique is voice control, talk-show-do and distraction, the latter two being more accepted by parents, and the method with greater rejection is hand-over-the-mouth. In order to obtain the collaboration of children during dental procedures, it is necessary for the professional to know and respect each phase of the child's development and apply each technique according to the individual needs of the patient and appropriate to each situation.

Keywords: Pediatric dentistry; Childish behaviour; Behavioral management.