Literature review: Management of anxiety and fear during dental consultation.

Silvia Ariza*,Laura Lopez*,Laura Alfonso*,Isabella Rodríguez*,Patricia Ruge*,Lucía

Garzón*,Stephany Taylor*,Katherine Peña*, Jacqueline Garzón**
*Estudiantes séptimo semestre,facultad de odontología Universidad el Bosque.
**Docente Facultad de Odontología de la Universidad el Bosque

Introduction: dental anxiety is a psychological and multisystemic state that is associated

with physio-psychological changes, when faced with a belief of danger or threat, this is
accompanied by a feeling of fear, this is defined as an individual and subjective experience
that usually changes or manifests itself in different ways between people. Prevalence: Rates
ranging from 4% to 23% in European countries. In South America rates of 34.7% were found
in preschoolers, in the USA 35 million people suffer from dental anxiety, in Colombia its
prevalence reaches 30.4%.Etiology: Multifactorial, involving experiences of the child,
communication of the dentist, empathy, age and / or the office environment, among others.
Objective: to establish guidelines for the detection and management of anxiety and fear in
the dental consultation of the pediatric patient. Materials and methods: A bibliographic
search was performed in the PubMed and Embase databases, using the keywords: anxiety,
children, pediatric dentistry, dental anxiety, fear, management of anxietey, prevalence on
anxiety. 10 articles were found of which 8 articles were selected. To control this
phenomenon in children, basic non-pharmacological strategies have been implemented,
such as communication, strategies such as saying show and do, voice control, breathing
management and distraction. Other more advanced techniques may include cognitive
behavioral therapy and protective stabilization. Pharmacological techniques include
sedation, hypnosis, and general anesthesia. Conclusion: In the dental field, the detection of
these behavioral disruptions in children is a fundamental part of their development and it is
necessary to implement tools and develop early and effective interventions that help
decrease anxiety during the consultation, thus allowing the tranquility of children, parents
and / or caregivers and dental staff.