J Dent Anesth Pain Med.  2019 Dec;19(6):369-378. 10.17245/jdapm.2019.19.6.369.

Comparative evaluation of the effectiveness of a mobile app (Little Lovely Dentist) and the tell-show-do technique in the management of dental anxiety and fear: a randomized controlled trial

• Elicherla
• Bandi S
• Nuvvula S
• Challa RS
• Saikiran K
• Priyanka V

• KMID: 2466652
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.17245/jdapm.2019.19.6.369

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Behavior guidance is a technique used to subdue inappropriate behavior by establishing communication that meets the needs of a child. This study aimed to measure the effectiveness of a mobile app (Little Lovely Dentist) compared to the tell-show-do (TSD) technique in managing anxious children during their first dental visit.
METHODS
Fifty children (30 boys and 20 girls) without any past dental experience, aged from 7 to 11 years, were randomly allocated into either the dental app group or the TSD group. The pre- and post-operative anxiety of children who underwent prophylactic cleaning was assessed both physiologically and subjectively using a heart rate measurement and the RMS pictorial scale, respectively.
RESULTS
The intragroup comparison of heart rate and RMS scores for children allocated to the dental app group was statistically significant (P value ≤ 0.001). However, a significant reduction only occurred in the RMS scores, but not the heart rate measurements, in the TSD group. Conversely, there was an increase in heart rates in the TSD group.
CONCLUSION
Educating the child prior to a dental procedure using a smartphone application such as Little Lovely Dentist can significantly alleviate the anticipatory anxiety and engage children in dental treatment during their first visit.

Keyword

Anxiety; Behavior Guidance; Dental Application; First Dental Visit; Tell-Show-Do

MeSH Terms

Anxiety
Child
Dental Anxiety*
Dentists
Heart Rate
Humans
Love*
Mobile Applications*
Smartphone

Figure

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  Fig. 1 Little Lovely Dentist app

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  Fig. 2 Educating a child about the procedure using the dental app

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  Fig. 3 Conditioning the child using tell-show-do

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  Fig. 4 Performing the oral prophylaxis procedure and recording procedural anxiety using a pulse oximeter

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  Fig. 5 RMS pictorial scale used for assessing pre- and post-operative anxiety

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  Fig. 6 CONSORT flow diagram of the study design

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