Abstract
AbstractINTRODUCTION: Often, parents who visit the dental office express the desire to be present with their child during treatment. This study aims to assess the attitudes of parents toward separation from their children during dental treatment in Delhi NCR. Material and Methods: Using a pre-tested and pre-validated questionnaire, a total of 364 parents participated in the study. Sex, marital status, job, family income and questions related to parental preference while seeking dental treatment for their child. RESULTS: It was found out that ninety four percent of the parents preferred to stay with their child during treatment. A significant difference was seen between fathers and mothers on who wanted to be present in the dental clinic when the child was in pain (p=.04,R = 0.24), afraid of the dentist(p=.01, R = 0.23) and when the child was un-cooperative (p=.03, R = 0.14). It was also reported by parents that they mostly feared extraction (56%), flowed by fillings/RCT (28%), scaling (13%) and then X-rays (3%) as treatment procedures for their children. CONCLUSION: From the parent's perspective, their protective nature wants them to be with their child so that they can make their child feel safe. However, for the dentist to form a holistic bond with the patient, certain factors need to be kept in mind that define the parental attitudes for better treatment of his patient.