Pain coping strategies in pediatric dental care

Aim: To determine pain coping strategies used by children during dental treatment. Design: A single cross-sectional survey with a questionnaire carried out in 199 children aged 10-17 years. Methods: The Waldron/Varni Pediatric Pain Coping Inventory was used. Interpretation of the results was preceded by exploratory factor analysis and Varimax orthogonal rotation. Statistical analysis of results concerning coping strategies was performed with descriptive statistics methods: the mean, standard deviation and median. Quantitative parameters were compared with the two-sample t-test, Mann-Whitney and Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests. All the tests were performed at a level of significance of α = 0.05. Results: The results were interpreted based on analysis of 25 items structured into five factors of the modified questionnaire, revealing strategies used by children to cope with pain and perceived as effective by them. The most frequently reported strategies were cognitive self-instructions. Younger children preferred the use of social support; passive relaxation and cognitive self-instructions were preferred by girls and boys, respectively. Hospitalized children needed social support more often than outpatients, and so did children undergoing dental treatment with parental accompaniment. Conclusion: Differences in the use of coping strategies were noted, particularly with regard to children's age category, gender, hospitalization and parents being present during treatment. Routine recommendations of how to effectively cope with pain during dental treatment without considering the child’s individuality and particular situation are not advisable