Passive Observer Instruction on Parental Satisfaction in a Dental Setting

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Dentistry
• Behavioral Science in Dentistry

Background:

• Parental presence during pediatric dental appointments is common.
• Parental involvement can influence child behavior and appointment outcomes.
• Managing parental presence effectively is crucial for successful dental visits.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of instructing parents to be passive observers on their satisfaction with the child's dental visit.
• To determine if a simple pre-operative instruction influences parental behavior during pediatric restorative appointments.

Main Methods:

• A randomized controlled trial involving 105 children aged 3-9 years undergoing their first restorative dental procedure.
• Parents were randomly assigned to receive an oral instruction to be a passive observer (test group) or a mock instruction (control group).
• Parental passivity was assessed by the dentist, and parental satisfaction was measured via a post-visit survey.

Main Results:

• A significantly higher percentage of parents in the test group (67.3%) were observed to be passive compared to the control group (32.1%) (P<0.01).
• No statistically significant difference in parental satisfaction was observed between the test and control groups.
• The intervention effectively increased parental passivity without negatively impacting satisfaction.

Conclusions:

• Instructing parents to be passive observers is an effective strategy in pediatric dentistry.
• This approach can harness the benefits of parental presence while minimizing potential disruptions.
• A single, dentist-delivered pre-operative instruction to be a passive observer is feasible and does not reduce parental satisfaction.