Abstract
To gather feedback from parents regarding the method of physically restraining their children during dental treatment and to improve the operation of dentistry for patients with special needs, a questionnaire survey of parents was conducted regarding physical restraints during dental treatment in a center where general anesthesia and intravenous sedation cannot be performed. The dentist explained to the parents about the method of physical restraint during dental treatment, why physical restraint was necessary, the danger of the method, and also introduced a tertiary medical institution where general anesthesia/intravenous sedation was available if desired. The dentist offered three options：“A. Okay. I want treatment under restraint （restrainer）”, “B. Okay, but I want treatment that can be done without restraint”, or “C. Okay. I would like to be referred to a tertiary medical institution （university hospital）”. After the parents selected a choice, the dentist distributed a questionnaire form and asked them to fill it in anonymously.
The questions were：（1） Previous experience of a physical restraint net （restrainer） when your child received dental treatment, （2） Thoughts on treatment using restraints, （3） Further choice for selected behavior management.
89.1％ of parents had experienced physical restraint of their children, wanted it, and thought positively of it. The other 10.9％ of parents wanted treatment without the use of physical restraint. In special needs dentistry, it is important to create an environment that makes it easy for parents to talk to their dental staff about what they want and about any worries they may have. Also, it is important to respect the thoughts of parents and always provide them with the opportunity to choose which behavior management method should be applied during each and every treatment.
