Predictors of Parental Acceptance towards Contemporary Behavior Management Techniques Used in Pediatric Dentistry: A Preliminary Study on Turkish Population

Background: Parents, who make the final decision regarding their child’s treatment, play a significant role in their dental care. Parental approval is important for each stage of treatment and may affect the physician’s approach to the treatment. Therefore, it is essential for pediatric dentists to comprehend which behavior management techniques (BMTs) are acceptable to parents and to identify the factors that influence their acceptability. Methods: Parents who were bringing their children for dental treatment answered a survey on the acceptance of twenty contemporary BMTs. The sociodemographic data of the parents and the age, gender, and Frankl behavior rating scale (Frankl) scores of their children were recorded. Parents were asked to indicate their level of acceptance of each BMT. Binary logistic regression analysis was designed to see the predictors of “accepted” and “declined” answers. Results: According to acceptance frequencies, the most accepted technique was communication and communicative guidance. The most declined technique was parental absence. The child’s age, gender, Frankl score, parental educational status, and parent type predict the acceptability of some BMTs. Conclusion: This study revealed that pediatric dentists must consider parent and child factors when selecting BMTs for children. We believe that this study can provide a basis for determining which factors pediatric dentists should consider when selecting individualized BMTs.