Parental Personality Traits and Anxiety in Relation to the Acceptance of Behavior Management Techniques in Pediatric Dentistry

ABSTRACT Objective: To determine whether parents’ personality characteristics and anxiety were associated with the acceptance of different Behavior Management Techniques (BMTs). Material and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 28S parents of children referred for dental treatment were selected, and a video of BMTs was shown to them. Acceptance of BMTs was recorded using a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). After obtaining demographic data, the Corah Dental Anxiety Assessment Scale (DAS) was used to assess parental dental anxiety. The PANAS (Positive Affect Negative Affect Scale) questionnaire was used to determine parents’ tendency toward positive or negative personality traits. Results: Positive personality traits of parents were not associated with the acceptance of different BMTs, whereas parents with more negative personality traits accepted the modeling (17.S±6.94) and positive reinforcement (16.2±5.8S) more than other BMTs (p=0.01). Parents with higher levels of anxiety received general anesthesia more than other BMTs (17.5±5.74) (p=0.0l). However, restraint techniques were unacceptable for parents with negative personality traits (23.5±6.2, 23.2±5.9) (p=0.00). Conclusion: Anxiety and negative personality correlate significantly with parental acceptance of behavior management techniques. This should be considered when selecting the optimum behavior management technique.