Effectiveness of audiovisual distraction in behavior modification during dental caries assessment and sealant placement in children with autism spectrum disorder

Abstract

Background:The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of audiovisual (AV) distraction in behavior modification during dental caries assessment and sealant placement in children with autism spectrum disorder.Materials and Methods:This study was conducted on 28 children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, aged 6.5−9.8 years. Children underwent one introductory (desensitization) appointment and three treatment sessions. During the introductory session, children had the procedures explained to them, they watched a movie projected on a screen while oral screening and assessment of cooperation level were carried out. In treatment session I, oral examination, charting, and dental x-rays were undertaken, whereas the children watched movies with or without video eyewear. During treatment sessions II/III, dental prophylaxis was carried out on upper and lower jaws in addition to the application of dental sealants on the right upper and lower and the left upper and lower permanent molars, respectively, while the children were distracted by cartoon movies using video eyewear. Changes in pulse oximeter and heart rate were recorded every 5 min. Independent samples t-test was used to assess the significance of changes in pulse and O2 saturation levels during each visit.Results:International Caries Detection and Assessment System-code 2 was found to be the most prevalent (n = 58; 52%). A significant difference (P < 0.02) was observed in mean heart rate during dental screening of the upper and lower jaws with and without video eyewear. A decrease was observed in the mean heart rate during subsequent treatment sessions.Conclusion:Initial desensitization appointment and “tell-show-do” approach, followed by short and positive treatment sessions, assisted in gaining cooperation and improving behavior in the subjects. Video eyewear distraction proved an effective tool in managing children with autism spectrum disorder during noninvasive preventive dental procedures.

The use of audiovisual distraction eyeglasses as a resource in Pediatric dental care: a case series

“…Individual heart rates at the time of intervention were lower when audiovisual eyeglasses were used. The same results were found in previous studies [14,[17][18][19][20][21][22]. A recent study compared the influence of conventional treatment, audiovisual eyeglasses and audio alone on the patients' heart rates.…”

Psychoeducational intervention to improve oral assessment in people with autism spectrum disorder, BIO-BIO region, Chile

“…Our sample of people with ASD was larger than the samples in many other studies of psychoeducational intervention targeting dental procedures (1-3,9-11,15,20,24,29,30). No previous studies have attempted to assess groups of children, adolescents and adults with ASD; most have only assessed children (1,3,9,10,23,24,27,30) or have assessed children and adolescents (2,22,28,29,31) without differentiating between them, which is important as hormonal changes in adolescence could influence the results (15). Thus, the present study makes a significant contribution to knowledge because we analyzed a group of adolescents with ASD, as did an Indonesian study (20).…”

“…Clinical rehearsals at home and in educational institutions are amongst the behavioral interventions used in dental care to anticipate and familiarize patients with basic dental instruments and procedures (12,15,21). The use of systematic desensitization and successive approaches that allow the patient to become familiar with the dental office, the dentist and the clinical procedures (9,15,22,23), and the use of Tell-Show-Do (T-S-D) or Tell-Show-Feel-Do (T-S-F-D) techniques, which consist of letting the person know in advance what procedures are going to be performed and what he/she is going to feel, have also been described (15,24,25). Other techniques are in vivo (9,15,26) or audiovisual modeling to improve compliance with clinical dental examination in people with ASD (9,15).…”

“…Other techniques are in vivo (9,15,26) or audiovisual modeling to improve compliance with clinical dental examination in people with ASD (9,15). Most of these techniques involve the use of reinforcement (8,9,15,21-23,25,26). The use of visual supports and the D-TERMINED program based on Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) may also facilitate oral examinations and treatment (2,27).…”

“Mom Let’s Go to the Dentist!” Preliminary Feasibility of a Tailored Dental Intervention for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in the Italian Public Health Service

“…Such individuals, selected from among the subjects with high-functioning ASD, will compose the cohort for this further evaluation, and will be followed in the next study. This would enable comparing the compliance and the psychophysiological response, and therefore the overall benefit brought by the MyDentist App, with respect to the previous literature dealing with dental research, stress and ASD [ 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 ]. Finally, other parameters could be extracted from the physiological signals, including frequency of non-specific skin conductance responses (NS-SCRs) for the GSR.…”