Management of children in CDC is an intricate balancing act involving the child, parent/caregiver and you. Good communication skills are necessary to provide dental care for children. A considerable percentage of children do not co-operate in the dental chair, thus causing a hindrance to delivery of care. Behaviour management is an integral component of paediatric dental practice, which you will learn with us during CDC training.
Goals of Behaviour Management
Communicating with children is a challenge for you and your team. The development of the child will dictate the level and amount of information you can exchange. This needs for you, as a dentist to have appropriate vocabulary so that the child can understand.
Following are the possible behaviour patterns of the child:
| Frankl’s scale | Behavior |
|---|---|
| Category 1 | Definitely negative. Child refuses treatment, forcefully, fearfully or displays agitated, overt evidence of extreme negativism. |
| Category 2 | Negative. Reluctant to accept treatment and some evidence of negative attitude (not pronounced). |
| Category 3 | Positive. The child accepts treatment but may be cautious. The child is willing to comply with the dentist, but may have some reservations. |
| Category 4 | Definitely positive. This child has a good rapport with the dentist and is interested in the dental procedures. |
You must be able to assess the child’s developmental level, dental attitudes and temperament to predict how the child will react to treatment. Behavior guidance involves you and your team, the patient and the parent, directed toward communication and education. The goal is to ease fear and anxiety.
This will encourage future visits and increased footfalls in your clinic.
Communicative Management You will learn a host of techniques to gain cooperation from a child. This is necessary to gain attention, compliance and avert negative behaviour.
Voice control- controlled alteration of voice volume, tone or pace to influence and direct the child’s behavior. This technique is ineffective for children with severe hearing impairments.
Tell-show-do - Involves verbal explanations of procedures (tell); demonstrations the procedure (show) and demonstration of what will be done (do).
Positive reinforcement - is reward of desired behaviors by positive voice modulation, facial expression, verbal praise and appropriate physical demonstrations of affection by all members of the dental team.
Distraction - is diverting the child’s attention from the procedure.
Modeling - the child observes the procedure.
Non-verbal communication - reinforcement and guidance of behaviour through appropriate contact, posture and facial expression.
This and much more learning will be imparted to you when you avail our CDC training.
Children who are hyperactive require more advanced techniques. These children cannot cooperate due to lack of psychological or emotional maturity and/or mental, physical or medical disability. The advanced behaviour guidance techniques taught in CDC training programmes include protective stabilization, sedation and general anaesthesia. This will help facilitate communication, cooperation and delivery of quality oral health care for hyperactive patients.
Get in touch with CDC counselor to learn more and register to avail our intensive training programme.
