title: A conceptual model of parental behavior change following a child's dental general anesthesia procedure.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study was to investigate parents' challenges to long-term maintenance of healthy behaviors following their child's dental general anesthesia (GA).
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-six in-depth interviews were conducted with parents of children younger than 6 years of age who had dental treatment under GA. The interviews were scheduled at various time periods following the surgery. Compared were the responses of: (1) "relapse" families, whose child had new cavities at the 6-month recall; and (2) "no relapse" families, who were caries-free at recoil. A grounded theory approach to data analysis was used.
  
  
  RESULTS
  "Relapse" parents: (1) valued baby teeth differently; (2) perceived their child to be less susceptible to new cavities; and (3) expressed lower self-efficacy for controlling their child's oral health compared to "no relapse" parents. They also appeared to be: (1) in earlier stages of change; (2) less receptive to advice from others, including professionals; and (3) more permissive regarding their child's desires. "Relapse" parents did not seem to have any immediate plans to change their "home-care" behaviors.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  GA did not appear to affect long-term preventive behaviors for all parents. Readiness to change seemed to be an important predictor of whether parents adopted and maintained preventive behaviors to improve their child's oral health.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Health Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. msharifz@interchange.ubc.ca
authors.forename: Maryam S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Amin
authors.forename: Rosamurd L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Harrison
mesh_terms: D000766:Anesthesia, Dental / Q000379:methods / Q000523:psychology*; D000768:Anesthesia, General / Q000523:psychology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D019140:Dental Care for Children / Q000523:psychology*; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008960:Models, Psychological; D016487:Parenting / Q000523:psychology*; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology; D012008:Recurrence; D014094:Tooth, Deciduous