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Completed

NCT Number: NCT06241157

Pediatric-Quiz Game Behaviour Guidance in Children

Behavior orientation is the cornerstone of the success of pediatric dentistry. The use of behavior management techniques enables children to learn appropriate behavior and coping skills, reduce anxiety, and facilitate the delivery of adequate oral health care. Some behavior guidance systems have been tried to be created. On the basis of the magic game, it has been tried to move the children away from the current real situation, the reality of dental treatment, to move forward in communication and successful results have been obtained. The main thing in the technique is to start the communication with the child in the waiting room of the dentist and to reduce the anxiety of the child by improving the self-efficacy perception of the child. The aim of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of question-answer behavior guidance technique in dental treatment in pediatric patients.

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Key information

Age range

4 year–8 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Marmara University, Faculty of Dentistry, Department of Pediatric Dentistry

Istanbul, 34854, Turkey (Türkiye)

About this study

Behavior orientation is the cornerstone of the success of pediatric dentistry. The use of behavior management techniques enables children to learn appropriate behavior and coping skills, reduce anxiety, and facilitate the delivery of adequate oral health care. Better communication can be achieved when children feel the freedom to express themselves. In the same way, parents may state that in cases where there is no coercion and verbal communication, the children are uncomfortable and they have problems during their second-third dentist visits.

However, in some cases, success may not be achieved even if different behavior management techniques are applied. Activities such as diverting attention in children to other areas, starting the communication in the waiting room before entering the practice environment can lead to self-confidence, relaxation and confidence. The method of rewarding can also be very effective in directing behavior in children. For this reason, it communicates with a combination of some techniques without depending on only one technique and can lead to applications in dentistry practice.

Based on this idea, some behavior guidance systems have been tried to be created. On the basis of the magic game, it has been tried to move the children away from the current real situation, the reality of dental treatment, to move forward in communication and successful results have been obtained.

With this information, the aim of our study is to experience a new behavior management technique in children. The main thing in the technique is to start the communication with the child in the waiting room of the dentist and to reduce the anxiety of the child by improving the self-efficacy perception of the child. In this direction, in order to increase the child's self-efficacy perception, simple questions are asked to the child about colors, fruits and animals, if necessary, clues are given to give correct answers, and verbal praise for correct answers aims to increase self-efficacy perception and reduce anxiety. After the communication is started in the waiting room, the dental examination, dental chair and planned procedures will be introduced to the child, together with the tell-show-do method, as always practiced in the dental chair. The aim of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of question-answer behavior guidance technique in dental treatment in pediatric patients. Children's pain and anxiety levels were assessed by various tests designed to purpose. The Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), a self-reporting scale,was preferred to evaluate children's experience of pain. The scale displayed a colored spectrum on the front side ranging from no pain (white) to severe pain (red), which indicates relevant pain scores ranging from 0 to 10 on the reverse side.10

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Children of age group 4-8 years.
  • with no previous dental experience.
  • without any systemic or mental disorders.

Exclusion criteria

  • Children or their families that could not agree to participate the study
  • They had a previous serious dental experience in need of emergency treatment
  • Having systemic or mental disorders

Treatment and study plan

Pediatric Quiz Game

Other

Investigator will start interacting with children upon their arrival and during their presence in the waiting room before entering the operating room. This will help to obtain better cooperation (frankl scale) and anxiety reductions (FIS and VPT) at different stages of the dental examination (e.g., entering the clinic, sitting on the dental chair, opening mouth, examination with mirror, probe, use of low-high-speed handpieces, ITR restoration). Pediatric Quiz is actually an ice-breaking quiz game developed for children, with the promise of a surprise gift at the end. It can be defined as "asking children basic questions on colors, animals, fruits and/or cities depending on the age of the child among which the child would choose him/herself and answer the question easily.

Primary outcomes

  1. The Visual Analogue Scale (VAS)

    Time frame: 3 Months

    Participants' pain and anxiety levels were assessed. The scale displayed a colored spectrum on the front side ranging from no pain (white) to severe pain (red), which indicates relevant pain scores ranging from 0 to 10 on the reverse side.

  2. The Dental Subscale of Children's Fear Survey Schedule parental version (CFSS-DS pv)

    Time frame: 3 months

    The Scale consists of 15 articles. The answers are given by parents on a Likert type scale, ranging from 15 to 75. For children with moderate and severe dental fear levels, threshold values are set as 32 and 38 points, respectively.

  3. The Venham Picture Test (VPT), a self-reporting scale

    Time frame: 3 months

    The scale is used to evaluate children's situational anxiety. It consists of 16 illustrations in pairs.Among the pairs, one represents the presence of anxiety and the other represents absence of anxiety. Children's anxiety scores were calculated between 0 and 8, according to the illustration they chose, representing themselves. Higher scores indicate the presence of anxiety and its level.

  4. Facial Image Scale (FIS).

    Time frame: 3 months

    Self-report scale will be used in the study to evaluate children's state of anxiety. It displays nine faces showing emotions ranging from "non-anxious" to "very anxious." Participants are requested to indicate the face that represents their actual feelings. The scores range between 0.04 (positive/nonanxious) and 0.97 (negative/very anxious), demonstrating the state anxiety.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Marmara University

Other

Registry information

Official study title

A Novel Behavior Guidance Technique: "The Pediatric Quiz Game" for the Management of Anxious Children

Acronym: Pedodontics

Important dates

Study start
2022
Primary completion
2024
Study completion
2024
First posted
Feb 5, 2024
Registry last updated
Mar 5, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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