title: Reinforced practice of children's cooperative behavior during restorative dental treatment.
abstract: A reinforced practice procedure was employed to teach cooperative behaviors to two 36-month-old children undergoing restorative dental treatment. The children were rewarded with temporary escape, praise, and stickers for practicing the use of cooperative behavior in the presence of the sights, sounds, and some of the sensations of the dental instruments, before the actual dental treatment. Observations of four classes of disruptive behavior during treatment indicated that baseline levels of disruptive behavior, typically greater than 95 percent, were reduced by more than 70 percent, following several practice visits. These changes were acceptable to the dentist--and to his assistant, who rated the children as more cooperative and less anxious.
authors.affiliation: Meyer Children's Rehabilitation Institute, University of Nebraska Medical Center.
authors.forename: K D
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Allen
authors.forename: L J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Stark
authors.forename: B A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Rigney
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Nash
authors.forename: T F
authors.initials: TF
authors.lastname: Stokes
mesh_terms: D001007:Anxiety / Q000517:prevention & control; D002652:Child Behavior; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003213:Conditioning, Psychological; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D003729:Dental Care / Q000523:psychology; D003793:Dental Restoration, Permanent; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012054:Reinforcement, Psychology; D012201:Reward