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| Author(s): |
Ludmila da Silva Tavares Costa
Total Authors: 1
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| Document type: | Master's Dissertation |
| Press: | Piracicaba, SP. |
| Institution: | Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Faculdade de Odontologia de Piracicaba |
| Defense date: | 2009-02-13 |
| Examining board members: |
Rosana de Fátima Possobon;
Angela Cristina Cilense Zuanon;
Fabio Luiz Mialhe
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| Advisor: | Rosana de Fátima Possobon |
| Abstract | |
Crying and moving around nervously can be considered as typical stress responses, therefore behavioral consequences of aversive stimuli exposure, such as what happens during dental treatment. This suggests the need for psychological treatments in order to reduce the levels of stress in the children exposed to these procedures. The objective of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of the desensitization psychological strategy, with planned sessions for the child's adaptation to the treatment, aiming to de decrease the stress levels (verified by the level of salivary cortisol) and the increase levels of collaboration of the patient during the preventive treatment. The sample was made up of 10 participating children form de Cepae-FOP-Unicamp (age range of 40 to 52 months) that presented non cooperation behavior during preventive dental procedures. The experimental sessions were planned with successive approximation steps to the final goal, which were the completion of all preventive procedures in collaboration with the child. The stress experienced by the child, before and after the experimental sessions, was investigated by evaluating the cortisol salivary levels. The results showed a significant difference between the average behavior of non cooperation issued by children in the initial sessions (44,6 ± 16,72) and final (5,40 ± 3,92) and a decrease in the average concentration of salivary cortisol in the initial session (0,65 ± 0,25 µg/dL) and the final (0,24 ± 0,10 µg/dL). Even more, after the desensitization sessions, there was a significant decrease of non cooperative behaviors as crying, nervous movements, apprehension and elusiveness. Concluding that the performance of the dentistry professional, prepared to deal with behavioral issues can contribute to lower the level of rejection related to the treatment, improving the behavior of the child during the clinical procedures and avoiding exposure to stressful situations. (AU) | |