BEHAVIOUR GUIDANCE TECHNIQUES : THE NONPHARMACOLOGICAL APPROACH

Behaviour management is one of the most important aspect of pediatric dentistry as the behaviour of pediatric patients during dental procedures directly affects the success of dental treatment. One of the biggest barriers in successful delivery of dental treatment in children and adolescents is dental fear and anxiety sometimes on the part of both child and the accompanying guardian. Children are often without any clue about dental set up and relate it largely to injections and plucking out of their teeth. Peer gossip about dental procedures may also build up subjective fear in the children. Therefore it becomes the responsibility of the dentist to build an atmosphere such that the child and parents feel calm and comfortable to come for regular appointments to the clinic. Children of different age groups have different ways for projecting their fear and anxiety. Pediatric dentists are well versed with these negative behavioural patterns. So with the objective of gradually modifying the fearful or anxious behaviour the dentist incorporates various combinations of behaviour shaping techniques in order to control the exaggerated negative behaviour as well as instil a positive attitude in the patient.