668 Available online at www.medicinescience.org ORIGINAL ARTICLE Medicine Science 2020;9(3):668-73 Investigation of dentist and clinical environment preferences for children patients and parents Esra Kizilci, Ismail Cihangir, Ozlem Askaroglu, Husniye Gumus Erciyes University, Faculty of Dentisry, Department of Pedodonty, Kayseri, Turkey Received 14 April 2020; Accepted 12 May 2020 Available online 17.08.2020 with doi: 10.5455/medscience.2020.04.054 Abstract Our study aims to determine the dentist's image and clinical environment features that can overcome the dental anxiety of the child and parent. The study was carried out on 400 children with their parents (n=400) who applied to Erciyes University pediatric dentistry department. The survey method involved questioning the experience of the dentist, the desired dentist, and the clinical environment. According to the results of the survey, it was determined that the children and the parents had positive feelings about this experience (65.5%-68.8%) since the majority of children and their parents had already gone to the dentist (77.5%-93.5%). It was observed that both parents and children want the dentist to wear a mask, but the use of identity cards and glasses is not preferred (p<0.05). It was determined that children prefer blue gloves and parents prefer white gloves. A preference for plain masks was found to be signifcantly high for both groups. (p=0.01). It was observed that the children and their parents preferred a white coat and in the use of colored scrubs, blue was preferred in both groups. We concluded that the image of the clinic should be more enjoyable to increase the compliance of the children and their parents with dental treatment. It was seen in the study that a physically accepted dentist and hospital environment was preferred for both groups. Keywords: Dental anxiety, dental clinic, dental fear, dentistry, clinical environment Introduction Dental anxiety is one of the most common problems in dentistry. This afects mostly children and adolescents [1, 2]. Dental anxiety is a multifactorial problem caused by three main factors. The discomfort caused by the dental clinic environment, experiences learned from parents and personal-psychological factors are the main factors [3, 4]. Studies and improvements regarding these variables can be efective in overcoming this fear. When the child is satisfed with the dentist and the clinical environment, the likelihood of compliance with the procedures, and an efective and successful treatment increases. Therefore, the way the dentist expresses himself becomes very important [4]. Researchers report that external appearance and environment features have efects on the frst visit and interpersonal communication. Children and their parents develop anticipation based on outlook before proceeding with oral dialogue with the dentist [5-7]. During the dental visit, it was stated that a child-friendly approach is benefcial for children to accept dental treatment and to cooperate. In the treatments that establish a more positive relationship with the child, the child's anxiety towards treatment is less developed. At the same time, the fact that the clinic where the treatment will be performed is interesting for the children may help them to show a more harmonious attitude towards treatment [8]. It has been reported by psychologists and sociologists that the efect of appearance on interpersonal relationships is important [9]. The pedodontist should watch overto the choice of clothing type, equipment used, and clinical environment features to increase the ft of the child. In this study, to increase the compliance of the child with dental treatment, it is aimed to determine the image of the dentist and the clinical environment, and thus provide a healthy dentist-patient- parent relationship. Materials and Methods In the study, the preferences of the dentist and clinical environment of the pediatric patients and their parents are investigated. According to the power analysis, the n value was calculated as *Coresponding Author: Esra Kizilci, Erciyes University, Faculty of Dentisry, Department of Pedodonty, Kayseri, Turkey. E-mail: esra_ayhan85@hotmail.com Medicine Science International Medical Journal