Original Research Article J Dent Specialities.2016;4(2):178-182 178 Relative efficacy of Tell-Show-Do and live modeling techniques on suburban Indian children during dental treatment based on heart rate values: a clinical study Karan Sharma 1* , Manvi Malik 2 , Vinod Sachdev 3 1,2 Senior Lecturer, 3 Professor & Head, Dept. of Pedodontics & Preventive Dentistry, ITS Centre for Dental Studies & Research, Muradnagar, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, India *Corresponding Author: Email: dr.karansharma@its.edu.in Abstract Aim: This study aims at evaluating the relative efficacy of the Tell-Show-Do and Live Modeling techniques on suburban Indian children during dental treatment based on the heart rate values. Materials & Methods: Children aged between 5 to 11 years were randomly divided into three groups as: GROUP A: Children who were presented with the Tell-Show-Do technique to undergo dental treatment. GROUP B: Children who were presented with Live Modeling technique, with mother as a live model. GROUP C: Children who were presented with Live Modeling technique, with father as the live model. A digital fingertip pulse oximeter was attached to the index finger of child’s left hand, in order to record heart rate values at a 30-second interval over a total of 11 data points. Results: Forty five of the forty six participants completed the entire protocol and participated in the study in three equal groups. Average heart rate over the entire treatment session was significantly lower among children in group B than among those in group A and group C at p<0.01. Conclusion: Live Modeling is a tangible technique in clinical pediatric dentistry as is supported by findings in other relevant fields also. Additionally, application of technique would require necessary skills, organized approach and innovation. Keywords: Behavior Management Techniques, Pulse Oximetry, Heart Rate. Access this article online Website: www.innovativepublication.com DOI: 10.18231/2393-9834.2016.0016 Introduction Visit to a dental operatory can noticeably mete out primal feelings of anxiety or fear in an apprehensive child. Prevalence of child dental anxiety has been estimated to range anywhere from 3% to 20% 1 . Such kind of foreseeable emotional response may lead to compromised quality of care rendered and it is no longer, a bolt from the blue, that, the dental clinic is a place many children would like to circumvent. 2,3 A pediatric dentist attending the aforesaid strata of patients, visiting for the first time, has distinctively clear options varying from pharmacological to non- pharmacological techniques of behavior management. In the past few consensus meetings, the American Association of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD) panel has agreed upon the fact, that although there is an abundant data on pharmacological approaches, yet paucity exists in literature on communicative and non- pharmacological techniques of behavior guidance, necessitating for more need based research in latter’s domain. 4 Among various non-pharmacological techniques, Tell-Show-Do or Explain-Show-Do 5 , remains the most widely practiced by pediatric dentists. 6 Another technique, rather a lesser known one, Live Modeling, gained enthusiastic interest amongst advocates of non-pharmacological behavior modification during the late twentieth century when Bandura defined it, as, learning resulting from the observation of a model. 7 Despite the fact that Live Modeling received an encouraging reception from dentistry, it did not evolve much to its caliber as it has been in fields of applied behavior analysis (including specific fears, social withdrawals and language deficits) 8 , Pediatrics 9 and sports 10 . Therefore, to supplement the existing data on non-pharmacological techniques of behavior guidance globally and paralleling with the AAPD’s school of thought, we undertook this clinical study to compare the effects of Tell-Show-Do and Live Modeling techniques on suburban Indian children, based on their heart rate measurements. Materials and Methods Complying with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation of the institute, the study was conducted at the department of Pediatric and Preventive Dentistry of Himachal Dental College and Hospital, Sundernagar, Himachal Pradesh, a tertiary oral health care institution, drawing footfall from more than five districts of Himachal Pradesh, India. Inclusion criteria: Children reporting for the first time accompanied by both the parents to the department of