Pre-school children with uncooperative behavior in the dental situation. Some characteristics and background factors.

One hundred and eighty-six generally healthy pre-school children referred to a pedodontic clinic because of uncooperativeness in the dental situation were surveyed with regard to some characteristics and background factors considered of importance as possible origins of the uncooperative behavior. Information was gained from interviews with the referring dentists and the parents, from a developmental test of the child, and from dental records. In spite of a high prevalence of caries, dental treatment before referral was characterized by few restorative measures. The results also showed that the children constituted a heterogeneous group with regard to the variables studied. Further, the referring dentists represented various resources in terms of self-reported knowledge and time for treating this category of children. The data provide a basis for comparisons with a reference group, to be presented in a subsequent study.