Dental anxiety in 6–7-year-old children treated in accordance with conventional restorative treatment, ART and ultra-conservative treatment protocols

Abstract

Objective. To test the hypothesis that dental anxiety levels of children treated in accordance with the conventional restorative treatment (CRT) are higher than in children treated with the atraumatic restorative treatment (ART) or ultra-conservative treatment (UCT) protocols. Materials and methods. In total, 302 children aged 6–7-years old, with at least two dentine carious lesions, constituted the sample. A parallel group study design was used with ART and UCT as test groups and CRT as the control. The treatment was divided into two sessions. In the first session, one carious tooth (class II in a primary molar) was randomly selected and treated according to one of the treatments. All other treatments were performed in the second session. Before the first (FIS Tx-1) and before the second session (FIS Tx-2) the level of dental anxiety was assessed using the Facial Image Scale (FIS). The GLM test and Spearman's Rank Correlation Coefficient were used to analyse the data. Results. No treatment group effect was observed on the FIS Tx-2 score (p = 0.64). A FIS Tx-1 score (p < 0.0001) effect on the FIS Tx-2 score was observed. The correlation coefficient between FIS Tx-1 and FIS Tx-2 scores was r = 0.30 (p < 0.0001). Conclusion. At the beginning of the second session there was no difference in dental anxiety levels of the children treated in the first session according to the three treatment protocols. A high dental anxiety score before the first session was a predictor of a high dental anxiety score at the second treatment session.

Key Words::

• facial image scale
• dental anxiety
• atraumatic restorative treatment
• restorative treatment
• dental caries

Acknowledgements

The authors thank the Education Department of the local government, as well as directors, teachers and students of the public schools in Paranoá for hosting us during the treatment days and for permission to carry out the study. Without the financial support from FAP-DF Brasilia (Fundação de Apoio à Pesquisa do Distrito Federal), Brazil and the Radboud University Nijmegen, the Netherlands, the study could not have been carried out. We are very grateful to the staff of both institutions and thank them for their kind assistance. We have appreciated the cooperation and material support from ABCD-DF dental association. We are very thankful to the dental assistants for their kind and skillful assistance and to Dr R. Guedes de Amorim for providing the treatment.

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.