Short communication: preferences of dentist's attire in a group of Istanbul school children related with dental anxiety.

AIM

This was to assess children's preferences for each of four different kinds of dental attire and to consider the relationship between children's preferences and levels of dental anxiety.

METHODS

A group of 827 children aged 9-14 years looked at anonymised photographs and were asked to say which of four dental attires they would prefer their dentists to wear "if they had been to a dental clinic". Children's Fear Survey Schedule - Dental Subscale (CFSS-DS) was used to evaluate the children's anxiety level.

RESULTS

Formal attire was the first preference for 45.6 % of the children (n: 377), followed by the child-friendly attire with a preference of 30.5% (n:144). There were 350 children (42.3%) who were diagnosed as anxious (CFSS-DS > or = 32) and 477 children (57.7%) were diagnosed as non-anxious (CFSS-DS <32). Anxious children were found to prefer the formal attire significantly less than non-anxious ones (p=0.010).

CONCLUSIONS

The popular view that children are fearful of white coats was not found in this survey. More children were observed to prefer the formal attire. However, the concept of "child-friendly" attire might be more appropriate for anxious children and enhance an easy first communication with them.