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Dental attitudes and memories: a study of the effects of hand over mouth/restraint.

1993; National Institutes of Health; Volume: 15; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

Barton Dh, Elizabeth M. Hatcher, Robert F. Potter, Henderson Hz,

Medical Malpractice and Liability Issues

The purpose of this study was to document whether there was a significant difference in the number and severity of generalized fears and dental fears between patients who did and patients who did not experience hand-over-mouth and/or restraint as children. Patient records in a dental school children's clinic and a private pediatric dental practice were examined to identify patients who had experienced hand-over-mouth and/or restraint. A set of verbal questions was designed, tested, and used to ascertain the differences between the HOM/restraint group and the comparison group. One hundred twenty-two subjects were interviewed, 61 who had experienced HOM/restraint and 61 who had not. When compared for generalized fears and specific dental fears, the two groups showed no statistically significant differences (P = 0.86 and P = 0.36 respectively). No statistically significant difference appeared between the two groups when asked how they felt about visiting the dental office (P = 0.41). When three different formats were used to question the subjects relative to their early dental memories, the two groups showed no statistical difference in negative or positive responses (P = 0.38, 0.75, and 0.25 respectively). More than two times as many HOM/restraint subjects as comparison subjects described negative experiences in a physician's office or hospital. This difference was statistically significant (P < 0.01).