Behavioral management of the pediatric dental patient among clinical dental students and interns

Knowledge and practice of behavioral management techniques is essential in the efficient delivery of oral health care in children. This study evaluated the knowledge and practice of various behavior guidance techniques among clinical dental students and dental interns. This was a descriptive crosssectional study of clinical dental students and dental interns of University of Benin Teaching Hospital and the Dental Centre of Central hospital, Benin. It was a questionnaire based study and involved 50 study participants. Descriptive analysis was done using SPSS, version 21.0. Majority of the study participants (84%) had good knowledge of behavior management techniques in children and 82% of them had rendered treatment to a child patient. Ninety-five percent had employed the use of at least one behavior management technique. Increase in the level of education and length of time in clinic resulted in the practice of more complex behavior guidance techniques and this was statistically significant (p=0.05). The training of dental students in behavior management techniques should not only be theoretical but should include clinical demonstrations of the techniques and video demonstrations, if possible, of the more complex procedures.Keywords: Behaviour management techniques, paediatric dental patien