Psychophysiological parameters and children's behavior during dental treatment

Uncooperative children represent one of the leading problems in clinical pedodontics. The hypothesis of this study was that extraverted children reveal greater pain tolerance, lower stress levels and anxiety in general in comparison to introverted ones. A total of 130 children aged 11 to 15 years were studied, 55 boys and 75 girls. In the research, psychological tests were performed along with the measurements of some physiological parameters and children's own assessment of pain intensity. The results revealed the connection between extraverted personality and children's behavior at the dentist's clinic. Pain tolerance, levels of anxiety and general pattern of behavior were significantly dependent on psychological control mechanisms.