Further analysis revealed that preference regarding the dentist��s gender was dependent on the gender of the child. Boys strongly preferred to be treated by a male dentist while girls preferred to be treated by a female dentist. Table 2. The children��s perception of their dentists. Sixty-nine percent of selleck chem Erlotinib children preferred that their dentist wear some type of protective equipment. When shown a picture of a dentist wearing a mask, a picture of the same dentist wearing protective eye glasses, and a picture of the dentist wearing both the mask and the eyewear, 40% of the children picked the picture of the dentist wearing both pieces of protective gear as the dentist they would like to be treated by, while 12% chose the picture of the dentist wearing eye glasses and 17% of the children chose the picture of the dentist wearing the mask.

Children who had a previous dental visit experience were more likely to prefer that their dentist wear protective gear (32%) than those who had not attended a dental clinic (9%) and this difference was statistically significant (P<.05). Ninety percent of the children preferred their dentist wear a white coat instead of a colored one. This preference was significantly different (P<.005) between boys and girls, as more girls than boys preferred the colored coat (P<.005). Eighty-two percent of the children preferred that their male dentist wear the formal attire as opposed to having casual attire (Table 2). Children were also asked to indicate how their dentist smelled. Eighty-eight percent of the children reported that their dentist had a good smell.

When the children were asked to choose between pictures of an undecorated dental clinic and a decorated dental clinic as the clinic they would like to be treated in, 63% selected the decorated dental clinic. However, preference pertaining to clinic d��cor differed significantly (P<.05) between age groups as only 37% of respondents from the younger age group (9�C10 years) liked the decorated dental clinic compared to 15% of the older age group (10�C12 years). Children cited several causes of fear related to visits to the dentist��s office (Table 3). These fears were related to injection (74%), tooth extraction (31%), teeth drilling (27%), restorations (14%), and sight of dental instruments (12%). Table 3. Summary of the factors that cause anxiety during dental visit.

DISCUSSION This study revealed that children have strong perceptions and preferences regarding dental visits and dentists. The majority (63%) of the children in this study reported that they liked their visit to the dentist which is consistent with the results AV-951 of other studies that have examined children��s attitudes toward dental care.7,8 However, dental practitioners should be concerned by the fact that 11% of children in this study reported that they disliked their visit and another 12% reported that they were afraid of the dentist.