Physical Constraint in Pediatric Dentistry: The Lived Experience of Parents

The use of physical constraint in pediatric dentistry is highly controversial. Papoose boards in particular, which envelop and immobilize children during treatment procedures, have been described as barbaric devices even though their goal is to protect the patient. In this debate, the voice of parents is important but still missing in the scientific literature.

To understand how parents or caregivers experienced physical constraint and the use of the papoose board on their children during regular dental treatment.

We conducted qualitative research rooted in interpretive phenomenology. Accordingly, we performed in-depth individual interviews with a purposive sample of 7 parents or caregivers. The interviews took place in Montréal, Canada, after the children had been treated with a papoose board for nonemergency dental treatments. The discussions were audio recorded, transcribed, and thematically analyzed.

Two perspectives emerged among participants. Some explained that the papoose board calmed their children, helped the dentist to complete the procedures, and made their experience less stressful. For others, the papoose board was a horrible and traumatizing experience, leading to feelings of guilt toward their children. They expressed anger toward the dentists for not allowing them enough time to decide and for imposing use of the device.

Our study raises serious ethical concerns about this practice. We believe that using a papoose board should remain an extraordinary measure and, more generally, that dental professionals should reflect on the place of children and their families in clinical encounters.

The findings of this study should encourage policy makers, dental professionals and ethicists to consider the following points: 1) the traumatizing experiences described by parents raise serious ethical concerns about the use of papoose boards; 2) the dental profession should reflect on the place of children and their families in the clinical encounter and grapple with the importance of consent and how to ensure consent in encounters involving children and their parents.