Children's Drawing as a Projective Tool to Assess Dental Anxiety

Launched by CAIRO UNIVERSITY · Apr 12, 2024

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

This clinical trial is studying a new way to understand how anxious children feel about visiting the dentist. Researchers want to find out if having children draw pictures can help predict their behavior and anxiety levels before a dental procedure, like getting a tooth pulled. They will compare the results of these drawings with other established methods of measuring anxiety, such as observing how children react during the visit and checking their heart rates.

To be part of this study, children need to be between 6 to 12 years old and have had some dental experience in the past. They should have at least one baby tooth that needs to be removed. However, children who are very young, have certain medical or psychological conditions, or don’t show interest in drawing may not be eligible. If chosen to participate, children will be asked to draw before their dental appointment, and this will help researchers learn more about how to support anxious kids during dental visits.

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• Inclusion Criteria:
• • Children aged from 6 to 12 years.
• • Children with past dental experience.
• • One or more primary teeth indicated for simple extraction procedure.
• Exclusion Criteria:
• • Patients lacking cooperative behavior (very young age and patients with certain medical or psychological disorders) according to Wright's classification.
• • Refusal of participation.
• • Lack of informed consent by the child's parents.
• • If the child shows any signs of disinterest in drawing.