A randomized cross-over trial of behaviour guidance techniques on children with special needs during dental treatment: the caregivers’ perceived mannerisms

Due to their challenging behaviour, the dental practitioner needs to implement a feasible behaviour guidance technique in delivering safe and effective dental care to children with special needs. This study evaluates the impact of Papoose Board (PB) usage on the attitude of carers and the association between their education level, monthly household income, and previous dental experience. Next, the acceptance, consent, and concern regarding utilising a combination of basic behaviour guidance techniques (CBBGT) and Papoose Board (PB) for their children will be compared. Ninety children with special needs were recruited to get dental care with two behaviour-guiding exposures successively in the order of A-B/B-A design. CBBGT as exposure A and PB as exposure B. Caregivers are to complete a questionnaire before and after the exposure. Eight-eight caregivers with children between 2 and 15 completed the sequence. A total of 98.9% of the children were found to have neurodevelopmental abnormalities and disorders. Twenty-seven carers expressed significant anxiety when the CBBGT was applied to their children, and fourteen carers felt the same way about PB. The Wilcoxon sign rank test, on the other hand, demonstrated that carers' scores on approval and permission for both procedures were inconsequential. However, after watching the placement of their children, caregivers’ views towards the use of PB dramatically improved. In conclusion, the caregivers exhibited comparable acceptance, consent, and worry about using PB. Additionally, they demonstrated improved attitudes following a detailed explanation and real- time observation of PB utilisation during their children's dental treatment.