1987 Volume 25 Issue 1 Pages 72-89
Dental Hospital since the opening on September 1979.
The style of treatment at our clinic is characterized by the following; the guardian sits beside their children during treatment, the restrainer is used for uncooperative children, and the mouth gag and rubber-dam are used as a general rule. We make every effort to relieve their anxiety and fear, e. g. encouraging and admiring the child, permitting the child to cry.
In the Pedodontic Clinic, it is important to gain the confidence of the guardians. Therefore, a questionnaire was made to find out how the guardians evaluate the style of treatment and whether they understand what we are trying to accomplish.
250 guardians were selected at random from the outpatients during the period from November 1985 to June 1986.85 children (66%) were in the recall group.
The questionnaires were summarized into three categories,1. background of visiting our clinic 2. evaluation by the guardians 3. influence of treatment on children and their guardians.
The following findings were obtained.
1.45.2% of all the patients was introduced our clinic by acquaintances.44%of all the guardians was motivated by the irfinding dental caries and gingival anomaly.134 patients had experienced dental treatment before visiting our clinic, and 30% of them could not be treated.
2. Sitting beside children and using the restrainer were evaluated highly, and our intentions were well understood. Though the use of mouth gag was supported by 83.2% of the guardians, the purpose of using this gag could not be precisely appreciated. The treatment with the rubber-dam was not well known. Though 74% of the guardians approved the use of the rubber-dam, this percentage was the lowest of the three (restrainer, mouth gag and rubber-dam).
3. As the treatments were repeated, the anxiety and fear of children tended to decrease. Even if children were crying, about 90% guardians desired the treatment to be completed fully. After treatment, changes in attitude was recognized in 30% of the patients (24.8% for the better,3.6% for the worse).
