The child as a dental patient

Abstract

The management of children's anxiety continues to be at the focal point of research into the child as a dental patient. This review is concerned first with different psychological concepts of anxiety, including psychoanalytic approaches, infant attachments, and behavioral and cognitive approaches. Incidents contributing to fear of dentistry and strategies used to manage anxiety and behavioral problems are then considered. The next section deals with coping mechanisms children devise to deal with anxiety-provoking situations. Finally, some comments are made on groups of children with special needs. The decline in caries and an increase in the awareness by dentists of the psychological needs of children should enable the next generation to be less fearful and more positive about the benefits of good dental health.