Guideline on Behavior Guidance for the Pediatric Dental Patient
 

Purpose
The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD) recognizes that, in providing oral
health care for infants, children, adolescents, and persons with special health care
needs, a continuum of both nonpharmacological and pharmacological behavior
guidance techniques may be used by dental health care providers. The various
behavior guidance techniques used must be tailored to the individual patient and
practitioner. Promoting a positive dental attitude, safety, and quality of care are of the
utmost importance. This guideline is intended to educate health care providers, parents,
and other interested parties about many behavior guidance techniques used in
contemporary pediatric dentistry. It will not attempt to duplicate information found in
greater detail in the AAPD’s Clinical Guideline on Appropriate Use of Nitrous Oxide for
Pediatric Dental Patients,1 Guidelines for Monitoring and Management of Pediatric
Patients During and After Sedation for Diagnostic and Therapeutic Procedures: An
Update,2 and Clinical Guideline on the Use of Anesthesia Care Providers in the
Administration of In-office Deep Sedation/General Anesthesia to the Pediatric Dental
Patient.3
 
Methods
This guideline was developed following the AAPD’s 1989 consensus conference on
behavior management for the pediatric dental patient.  In 2003, the AAPD held another
symposium on behavior guidance, with proceedings published in Pediatric Dentistry
(2004, Vol. 26, No. 2).  This revision reflects a review of those proceedings, other dental
and medical literature related to behavior guidance of the pediatric patient, and sources
of recognized professional expertise and stature including both the academic and
practicing pediatric dental communities and the standards of the Commission on Dental
Accreditation.4 MEDLINE searches were performed using key terms such as “behavior
management in children”, “behavior management in dentistry”, “child behavior and
dentistry”, “child and dental anxiety”, “child preschool and dental anxiety”, “child
personality and test”, “child preschool personality and test”, “patient cooperation”,
“dentists and personality”, “dentist-patient relations”, “patient assessment”, “treatment deferral
, and “restraint”. 

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Source:  http://cudental.creighton.edu/htm/Pediatric%20Dentistry/AAPD%20BehavGuide.pdf