Do Children and Adolescents Prefer Pediatric Attire over White Attire during Dental Appointments? A Meta-analysis of Prevalence Data

PURPOSE: To evaluate the preferences of children and adolescents regarding the professional attire used by dentists (pediatric or white attire). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Seven electronic databases were searched without restriction regarding language and publication date. The primary outcome was the preference of patients regarding pediatric or white attire; secondary outcomes were preference for a female or male dentist and the use of personal protective equipment or not. We ran a meta-analysis of prevalence data of preferences, calculating effect estimate (ES), 95% CI, subgrouped by anxiety status and sex of the patient. Z-test of interactions was used to compare prevalence between groups (p < 0.05). RESULTS: Fourteen cross-sectional studies were included, consisting of 5,756 patients with ages ranging from 2 to 15 years. Anxious children preferred more pediatric attire (ES: 0.03; 95% CI: 0.02, 0.03) than non-anxious children (ES: 0.02; 95% CI: 0.01, 0.02) (p = 0.0085). Female dentists were preferred (ES: 0.62; 95% CI: 0.52, 0.72) over male dentists (ES: 0.40; 95% CI: 0.30, 0.49) (p = 0.003) in general and by the girls (ES: 0.41; 95% CI: 0.25, 0.56) but not by boys (ES: 0.20; 95% CI: 0.09, 0.30) (p = 0.036). CONCLUSION: There is no difference in the preferences of children and adolescents regarding a specific attire. Anxious children and adolescents preferred dentists using pediatric attire. In general, female dentists were preferred over male dentists and also were preference among girls. HOW TO CITE THIS ARTICLE: Kastelic DRA, Volpato LER, de Campos Neves ATS, et al. Do Children and Adolescents Prefer Pediatric Attire over White Attire during Dental Appointments? A Meta-analysis of Prevalence Data. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2021;14(1):14–29