Child life and children's dentistry: broadening our scope of concern

The Association for the Care of Children's Health has recently broadened its scope of psychosocial concern to include not only children and families in hospitals, but also those in any health care setting. Clinical dental treatment has long been recognized as capable of producing patient apprehension. This paper discusses possible philosophical differences between optimal psychosocial care of children and families and dentistry's current beliefs and practices concerning the proper treatment of child patients. Several areas of opportunity for research and for increased "humanization" in dentistry for children are presented.