Children and Parent's Attitude and Preferences of Dentist's Attire in Pediatric Dental Practice

Vijaya Prasad Kamavaram Ellore, Mudasser Mohammed, Mahanthesh Taranath, Naveen Kumar Ramagoni, Vinod Kumar, Gururaj Gunjalli, Vijaya Prasad Kamavaram Ellore, Mudasser Mohammed, Mahanthesh Taranath, Naveen Kumar Ramagoni, Vinod Kumar, Gururaj Gunjalli

Abstract

Background: Before arrival into doctor's clinic, child might have acquired an impression of a clinical environment and doctor's appearance. Different kind of doctor's attire may evoke different reactions. By understanding children and parent's perception and preferences about dentist's attire, a suitable dress code could be adopted to establish good rapport with children.

Aim: To evaluate children and parental perceptions and preferences towards dentist attire.

Materials and methods: A questionnaire designed with series of photographs of male and female dental students in different attires was responded by 150 parents aged 29 to 63 years and 150 children aged 9 to 13 years.

Results: Seventy percent of children participants (n = 104) and 42% of parents participants (n = 63) favored the traditional white coat attire. However, 58% parents (n = 87) significantly preferred non-white coat attires in comparison to 30% of children (n = 46) (χ(2) = 21.61, p < 0.001). No statistical significant difference was noted among the children and the parents, both favoring the use of protective wear (χ(2) = 0.99 p > 0.05), no-significant association was found between parents and children response to white coat (χ(2) = 0.39, p = 0.53). A highly significant difference was found between the male participants, who favored the male dentist and female participants preferring the female dentist (χ(2) = 47.16, p < 0.001).

Conclusion: Our study attempted to rule out the stereotyped concept of 'white coat fear' among children, both children and parents favored traditional white coat attire, contrary to popular misconception 'white coat syndrome'. However, use of child friendly attires could be useful in anxious children for better practice management. How to cite this article: Ellore VPK, Mohammed M, Taranath M, Ramagoni NK, Kumar V, Gunjalli G. Children and Parent's Attitude and Preferences of Dentist's Attire in Pediatric Dental Practice. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2015;8(2):102-107.

Keywords: Dentist attire; Pediatric dentistry; White coat..

Conflict of interest statement

Source of support: Nil

Conflict of interest: None

Figures

Figs 1A to G
Figs 1A to G
(A) Traditional white coat, (B) Formal attire, (C) Casual attire, (D) Professional attire, (E) Child friendly attire, (F) Dental student with protective gear, (G) Dental student without protective gear
Graph 1
Graph 1
Distribution of children and parents based on attire preferences
Graph 2
Graph 2
Distribution of total participants in traditional and child friendly attire groups
Graph 3
Graph 3
Distribution of children and parents in child friendly and formal attire groups
Graph 4
Graph 4
Distribution of children and parents in traditional white coat and non-white coat attire groups
Graph 5
Graph 5
Distribution of male and female children based on their attire preferences
Graph 6
Graph 6
Distribution of children based on the preference of dentist’s gender
Graph 7
Graph 7
Distribution of children and parents based on their preferences of protective gear

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