An Investigation of Psychological and Behavioral Responses to Dental Extraction in Children

¹ Forsyth Dental Center and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts

The results of these three studies provide further evidence that dental extractions are highly stressful events, capable of producing measurable physiological and psychological responses. A simple psychological technic has been described that appears to reflect such a response.

The data indicate the importance of several factors affecting the psychological and behavioral responses of children to this stress; namely, preoperative personality adjustment, levels of preoperative anxiety, and a period of advance warning prior to surgery. At least one of the factors, a preoperative waiting period, is within the control of the dentist in mitigating adverse psychological responses to dental extraction.

For the behavioral scientist, these studies demonstrate the unique advantages of the dental situation in future studies of stress.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				M. E. Broome, R. C. Endsley, C. A. Kirgis, and S. Ferketich Group Preparation of Young Children for Painful Stimulus West J Nurs Res, November 1, 1987; 9(4): 484 - 502. [PDF]