European Journal of Molecular & Clinical Medicine

Abstract

Background: In Pediatric Dentistry, Fear and anxiety associated with dental treatment are a well recognized factor which has a negative impact on the child’s willingness towards dental treatment. The role of a dentist in managing a child is to treat the problem with which the child report with anxiety and to modify and shape the behavior of a child towards a positive dental response.
Aim: This review article aims to discuss the development of dental anxiety, various coping strategies and whether the newer psychological approach of McGurk Effect in Attention Focused Coping Strategy can be acceptable at the reduction of dental anxiety in children in near future.
Methods: An electronic search was performed using databases such as Google Scholar, PubMed, PubMed Central, Science Direct, and Scopus by using keywords such as (“McGurk Effect”) AND(“Coping Strategy” OR “Coping Style” OR “Distraction”) AND (“Fear” OR “Anxiety”) AND (“Behavior” OR “Behavior management”) AND/OR (“Pediatric Dentistry” OR “dentistry”). The last search was performed in March 2020. Exclusion criteria included studies published in a language other than English and abstracts from congress.
Results: The McGurk Effect based Attention focused coping style with incongruent audiovisual stimuli can be an innovative behavioral technique in pediatric dentistry in reducing the child’s anxiety regarding dental drill.
Conclusion: It seems that the highly structured McGurk Effect based Attention focused coping style can be effective in managing the internal perceptions and emotions (e.g., anxiety, fear) that are aroused during the dental restorative procedure and can guide favorably the child’s behavior in the dental setting However, more evidence is required regarding the clinical outcome of applying this new coping strategy in behavioral pedodontics in near future