During my pediatric rotation at Joe DiMaggio hospital on Thursday, February 23rd 2017, I was fortunate to assist to the second dental visit of a 3-year-old boy. The student provider was introduced to the child, who was reticent, a little scared and intimidated by the dentist and the dental setting. The child was accompanied by his mother.
The student provider placed the child in a knee-to-knee position. This technique required the oral health professional and the parent to face each other while seated, with knees touching or slightly interlocking. The child was horizontal and looking up, while his head was on the provider’s lap.
The parent used her upper arms to gently hold the child's legs and feet and her hands to gently hold the child's hands.
Not only did this technique provide the freedom the dentist needed to perform the procedure, since the parent could gently control the child movement, but also the child seems to feel at ease being in proximity to the parent and allowed the “tooth counting and taping” procedure to take place.
In addition, for the patient to accept the procedure, the student provider used the tell-show-do technique. This procedure encompasses three main phases 1) a verbal explanation 2) a demonstration 3) an execution of the above. Verbal explanation of the oral examination and tooth polishing was explained to the child using vocabulary appropriate to his developmental level. Knowing that most 3-year-old’s have very limited vocabulary, analogies were used such as tickling of the teeth for tooth percussion. Then, the polishing instruments were shown to the child and the procedure was demonstrated on the child’s hand. Finally, while staying consistent with what was explained and shown, the procedure was performed. Reinforcement of the “tell” was done during the “do” procedure. The challenge was to make the “tell” understandable, the “show” non-threatening and the “do” a simple touch and light pressure. Dr. Noguera, who was the faculty supervising the dental visit noticed that the child was not wearing any safety glasses. The child refused categorically to wear them. However, Dr. Noguera pretended the goggles were some nice astronaut glasses, which were very “cool” and told the child to look how mommy were wearing them. The demonstration on the mother had an immediate comforting effect, and given the desire for modelling, the child then immediately cooperated when asked to wear them. This clearly show the power that demonstration, along with a soft tone of voice and playful remarks, can have on collaboration in the dental setting. Even though it was not indicated in this context, in some situation in which behavior needs to be directed, voice control can be of benefit to gain patient’s attention and compliance, avert negative or avoidance …show more content…
It allows the practitioner to maximize the time that can be obtained from the patient attention and have more time to perform the procedure. The student provider used distraction technique by using a steady stream of verbal information and question about what the patient hobbies, preferences, toys and pets were. She also attempted to relate to the child by using her son as reference and made interesting comments to keep his attention uniform. This allowed, what seems like a very long cleaning to a child, a relatively quick procedure and provided adequate time for the student to
The student provider placed the child in a knee-to-knee position. This technique required the oral health professional and the parent to face each other while seated, with knees touching or slightly interlocking. The child was horizontal and looking up, while his head was on the provider’s lap.
The parent used her upper arms to gently hold the child's legs and feet and her hands to gently hold the child's hands.
Not only did this technique provide the freedom the dentist needed to perform the procedure, since the parent could gently control the child movement, but also the child seems to feel at ease being in proximity to the parent and allowed the “tooth counting and taping” procedure to take place.
In addition, for the patient to accept the procedure, the student provider used the tell-show-do technique. This procedure encompasses three main phases 1) a verbal explanation 2) a demonstration 3) an execution of the above. Verbal explanation of the oral examination and tooth polishing was explained to the child using vocabulary appropriate to his developmental level. Knowing that most 3-year-old’s have very limited vocabulary, analogies were used such as tickling of the teeth for tooth percussion. Then, the polishing instruments were shown to the child and the procedure was demonstrated on the child’s hand. Finally, while staying consistent with what was explained and shown, the procedure was performed. Reinforcement of the “tell” was done during the “do” procedure. The challenge was to make the “tell” understandable, the “show” non-threatening and the “do” a simple touch and light pressure. Dr. Noguera, who was the faculty supervising the dental visit noticed that the child was not wearing any safety glasses. The child refused categorically to wear them. However, Dr. Noguera pretended the goggles were some nice astronaut glasses, which were very “cool” and told the child to look how mommy were wearing them. The demonstration on the mother had an immediate comforting effect, and given the desire for modelling, the child then immediately cooperated when asked to wear them. This clearly show the power that demonstration, along with a soft tone of voice and playful remarks, can have on collaboration in the dental setting. Even though it was not indicated in this context, in some situation in which behavior needs to be directed, voice control can be of benefit to gain patient’s attention and compliance, avert negative or avoidance …show more content…
It allows the practitioner to maximize the time that can be obtained from the patient attention and have more time to perform the procedure. The student provider used distraction technique by using a steady stream of verbal information and question about what the patient hobbies, preferences, toys and pets were. She also attempted to relate to the child by using her son as reference and made interesting comments to keep his attention uniform. This allowed, what seems like a very long cleaning to a child, a relatively quick procedure and provided adequate time for the student to