The Association Between Childhood Traumatic Stress and Behavior in the Pediatric Dental Office

Purpose: Traumatic experiences such as abuse and exposure to violence impact children’s health and their ability to cope with stressful situations. We examined the relationship between a history of childhood trauma and a child’s behavior during dental treatment. Methods: Parents of healthy children ages 4 and over attending their initial dental appointment at University of Illinois at Chicago’s Pediatric Dental Clinic were asked to complete the Traumatic Events Screening Inventory- Parent Report Revised. Following the dental appointment, a pediatric dental resident reported the child’s behavior using the Frankl Scale. Results: One hundred-ninety parents were invited to participate. Five parents declined and 15 surveys were eliminated as they were either not returned, or returned blank. One hundred seventy surveys were collected and paired with resident ratings of child behavior in the dental chair. Ninety respondents (53%) indicated their child had experienced at least one traumatic event. Forty-four percent (n=59) of parents who responded about their child’s previous experience at a dentist indicated that their child had a prior negative experience. Binary logistic regression controlling for age showed no significant relationship between traumatic events history and poor dental behavior (P=.9), but there was a significant relationship between a previous negative dental experience and poor dental behavior (P=.000). Conclusion: Children with a history of experiencing traumatic events did not exhibit uncooperative behavior more often than those who did not experience it.