Students' perceptions about pediatric dental behavior guidance in an undergraduate four-year dental curriculum.

Students' acceptability scores of pediatric dental behavior guidance techniques and clinical situations were measured with visual analog scales in a four-year dental curriculum. At the end of the curriculum, the highest scores were for positive reinforcement (94.7+/-4.7), use of nitrous oxide (93.1+/-7.5), stimulating the child's imagination (90.4+/-11.1), tell-show-do (90.4+/-10.0), distraction (89.7+/-11.6), use of euphemisms (88.3+/-14.4), voice control (86.2+/-12.4), and promising a toy (83.6+/-17.7). The lowest scores were for showing a needle (23.1+/-20.9), treatment without local anesthetic (25.4+/-24.2), parent talking with the child during treatment (35.3+/-22.4), hand over mouth (37.1+/-25.4), dentist/assistant being quiet (38.5+/-25.3), and not allowing the child to speak (38.6+/-26.8). Comparison of scores after only didactic education versus after clinical plus didactic education indicated a significant increase in acceptability for general anesthesia and significant decreases for situations involving the parent in the clinic. Ranking of scores before and after the dental curriculum showed the largest change in ranking for general anesthesia (+10), telling that the treatment may involve pain (-9), parent's presence (-8) or talking with the child during treatment (-10), and use of nitrous oxide (+7). Dental education has the potential to shape students' perceptions about pediatric dental behavior guidance.