Abstract

REIS, Fátima; DIAS, Maria do Rosário  and  LEAL, Isabel. A consulta no setting odontopediátrico: A percepção subjectiva do medo. Aná. Psicológica [online]. 2008, vol.26, n.2, pp.239-250. ISSN 0870-8231.

Recent investigations suggest that the child’s subjective perception regarding the act of visiting the dentist has a more determining impact on dental care fear and anguish than the type of dental care procedure s/he may experience during the appointment or the pathology s/he may be suffering from. Projective techniques are of special interest for purposes of better understanding child dental fear, particularly child’s anguishes and fears. The present study assesses: (i) child dental fear and child’s behavior during the visit to the dentist. One hundred and sixty six school children (aged between 5-12 y.o.) were tested after visiting the dentist. Dental fear was assessed using the Children’s Dental Fear Picture test (CDFP), each child falling under one of three categories: “fearful”, “not fearful” or “uncertain”. Furthermore, an analysis was conducted on relation to age and the number of previous visits to the dentist. Dental fear and behaviour during the visit to the dentist should be considered as different entities. This study points toward the need of developing ludic-pedagogical instruments for use in medical settings involving children.

Keywords : Pediatric dentistry; dental fear; projective tests.

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