Iris Publishers-Online Journal of Dentistry & Oral Health | Communication Strategies for Reducing Patient Anxiety in Pedodontics Dentistry

Authored by Jim Schnell

This article will discuss the use of selected communication behaviors for reducing the level of anxiety experienced by child dental patients. The main areas to be covered are communication within dentistry, communication with children in the dental environment, and approaches for reducing anxiety experienced by child dental patients.

Dentists comprise the second largest group of primary, directservice health practitioners in the country [1]. Little has been written on communication between dental professionals and their patients, in comparison with other primary health care areas. Dental communication is unique, in comparison with other health care areas, as there is a lack of urgency in everyday interactions. Dental care is rarely a matter of life and death [2].

A problem more prevalent in dentistry than in most of medicine is pain, or more specifically, the fear of pain. This reaction to dental work is partially one of fear of the unknown, which may include pain. This problem is complicated as many people don’t go to see a dentist unless he/she has a problem, which is much more likely to result in pain when treated. Thus, a self-fulfilling prophecy can occur [3]. One study of dental patients indicates pain, and the equipment usually associated with pain, accounts for 62% of patient fears.

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