With NIH Grant, Researchers Will Train Dentists on Managing Patient Behavior

Not many kids look forward to going to the dentist. Few parents look forward to taking them. Meanwhile, many dentists struggle with how to handle child anxiety effectively.

Lauren Quetsch’s new project will help address this problem.

Quetsch, an assistant professor of psychological science, received a $450,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health to train general and pediatric dental providers in Arkansas on evidence-based, child behavioral-management skills to enhance young patient compliance and reduce dental anxiety.

Lauren Quetsch

The grant is part of a seven-year, $2.9 million award from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research to provide training to dental providers in West Virginia, North Carolina and Florida, in addition to Arkansas.

“Research shows that our dental habits are established early in life,” said Quetsch, who specializes in children with disruptive behavior and autism spectrum disorder. “By making the experience of going to the dentist a positive one while children are small, we may be able to promote life-long healthy behaviors. This may also reduce emergency dental visits and avoid more severe forms of child behavior management such as restraint or sedation in the dental operatory.”

The award will provide support for planning and implementing a pilot trial of several dental offices within Northwest Arkansas in the first two years. The remaining five years will focus on expanding the training throughout the state for any child-serving (ages 2-10 years) dental providers.

The researchers will assess dental providers during training days and within their clinics to determine skill gains and child outcomes. 

In addition to the $450,000 grant, the U of A will receive an additional $184,000 in indirect costs to support extra, related expenses.

Dan McNeil and Cheryl McNeil at the University of Florida are the primary investigators on the $2.9 million grant. In addition to Quetsch, co-investigators include Kimon Divaris at the University of North Carolina, Kirt Simmons at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), Henry Chu at UAMS, Swati Sharma at UAMS, and Christa Lilly at West Virginia University.