Evaluation of the effects of two different behavior guidance techniques on children's dental anxiety levels

Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of two different behavioral management methods on children's dental anxiety levels using psychometric and physiological methods and on pain perception using subjective and objective methods. Material and Method: This cross-sectional study included 63 patients aged 6- 8 years who required pulpotomy in one of their maxillary molars and who applied to the Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University between November 2023 and April 2024. The patients were divided into 3 groups according to the behavioral guidance method to be used: AGU, video modeling, and mobile application group. Blood pressure, pulse, and saturation values of the patients were recorded 15 minutes before the procedure, after local anesthesia, after pulpotomy, and 15 minutes after the end of the procedure. In addition, MCDASf and WBS were applied after the treatment was completed. Evaluation as made with FLACC on the video recording taken during the treatment. One Way Anova Test, Kruskal Wallis Test, Friedman Test, and Repeated Measurement Analysis were used for statistical analysis. The results were evaluated by accepting p<0.05 as the significance level. Results: No significant difference was found between the steps in terms of blood pressure, pulse and saturation values within the groups. A significant difference was found between the groups in terms of changes in systolic and diastolic blood pressure measured at the beginning and end (p=0.04; p=0.02). No significant difference was found between the groups in terms of pulse and saturation values. A significant difference was found between the groups in terms of MCDASf and WBS values (p=0.04; p=0.01). No significant difference was found between the groups in terms of FLACC values. Conclusion: Within the limitations of the study, it is observed that children who were applied the behavioral guidance technique with the mobile application had lower anxiety and pain perception values. Pediatric dentists can help children relax by choosing the correct and appropriate behavioral guidance method and make it easier for them to cope with stress and pain perception in interventional dental procedures.. Key words: Behavior management, Dental anxiety, Pain perception, Pediatric dentistry