Estimation of the Adaptability of Children to Dental Procedures through Development Testing

Abstract

We observed that the optimal parameter for estimating the adaptability to dental procedures in children was the developmental age. In this study, we looked for useful items to predict readily the adaptability of each child patient to Enjoji's Infant Analytic Development Test.
The subjects were 125 children(mean age 4 years 1 month±1 year 6 months). Their behavior was observed during the simulation of dental procedures, and was analysed the correlation with each of the items in the Development Test. In the statistical evaluation, we used Akaike's Information Criterion (AIC).
The results were as follows:
1) Each of the items in Enjoji's Infant Analytic Development Test was negative on AIC, and was relevant to adaptability to dental procedures.
2) The item most relevant to adaptability to dental procedures was the hand activity of “fastening a button”.