A Swedish study suggests that children and adolescents with severe dental fear often come from families with a turbulent background. Annika Gustafsson, a specialist in child dentistry, wanted to examine the differences between children that visit a general dentist, compared to those that require dental treatment from a specialist. "I wanted to investigate how children and adolescents with dental behaviour management problems who received specialist dental care differed from patients of the same age within ordinary dental care. I also wanted to discover why they cancel appointments and fail to attend appointments more often," explains Gustafsson in a press release.
According to The Sahlgrenska Academy of the University of Gothenburg, Gustafsson studied 250 children with dental behavioral problems and 250 children that do not have dental behavioural issues. A questionnaire was also filled out by the parents of these children -- which asked for information about the child's everyday life, and family situation. Hearing the findings of this study is a real eyeopener. "The children and adolescents with dental behavior management problems suffered significantly more from dental fear, and they lived in families with lower social class and poor economy. Most often, they lived in single-parent families, they had fewer leisure activities and more psychosocial problems than patients within ordinary dental care". Gustafsson also noted that the parents of the children with dental fears, also suffer from dental fears themselves. Says Gustafsson, "I believe that it has a negative effect on a child or adolescent if their parent does not want to go to the dentist with them due to the parent's own fear."
many oral problems getting passed down through family DNA. It is always good to try to research any past family health problems.
First time Scientists from Case Western University have linked bacteria from a mother’s gums to an infection in a baby. Pregnant women with untreated gum disease may have more at stake than just their teeth. They may also be risking the lives of their babies. Mothers have long been warned that gum disease can cause a baby to be born prematurely or too small.
Children from poorer families tend not to visit the dentist on a regular basis. They also tend to have more dental problems requireing more complex treatment. For this reason, they will be more anxious of the dentist.
- Vaughan Dentist
Shawn, that’s an interesting observation on child fear.
I’ve always been intrigued at how one child could be a dream to work on, and the next could be a nightmare.
Some children seem to have resiliency and tolerance. Others seem prone to theatrics or defiant non-compliance.
The turbulent backgrounds would make sense. These adolescents would feel less secure and stable to start with. They may be accustomed to dealing with perceived threats in a hostile manner.
Joe Bulger DDS
Visit my dental blog – Toronto Dentist Smile Blog
This post made me really appreciate how privileged many children are here in North America, and how hard it is for those from unkind backgrounds to overcome a bad start regarding dental care.
Joe
Today I met a sweet young girl who, by age 6, already had a variety of bad experiences at previous dentists, including 2 pediatric specialists. Trust building is such an essential part of patient management. Are dentists too busy to be gentle and kind these days?
Joe