Behavioral Guidance and Management for the Pediatric Dental Patient

Discover strategies that make working with kids child’s play

The Behavioral Guidance and Management for the Pediatric Dental Patient online interactive course was created in response to a survey of American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD) members, in which respondents indicated a need for a greater level of dental assistant competency in working with pediatric patients. Beginning with an overview of guidelines and concepts specific to pediatric dentistry, this dynamic course offers information on mandated reporting, family-centered care, communication management, assent and informed consent, and the importance of adaptability when working with pediatric patients. The remainder of the course is divided into separate modules addressing the specific milestones and unique needs of individual pediatric age groups (0-3, 3-6, 6-12, and 12-18) as well as children and some adults with special needs.

Offering practical strategies and techniques, this course will help you better understand and even anticipate the mental, emotional and social needs of children — and how to adapt to each developmental stage. By guiding you through such issues as selecting appropriate language and building rapport, this course introduces you to accepted methods you can use every day to ensure that young patients, along with their parents or guardians, feel comfortable during dental visits and procedures. You will also have an opportunity to practice these techniques in virtual patient scenarios and review the responsibilities of your role as it applies to patient care. As with other courses from the DALE Foundation, you may take printable notes along the way. You will also be able to access valuable course resources like AAPD guidelines and sample informed consent forms, even after the course expiration date.

Behavioral Guidance and Management for the Pediatric Dental Patient is broken down into six modules. Each module is specific to an age group or special needs population. This course includes a pre-assessment to gauge your knowledge before you begin, which will help you identify and focus on the areas in which you need improvement. At the end of the course, you will be prompted to complete a post-assessment that will be scored. If necessary, you will be able to take the post-assessment more than once to obtain a passing score. You’ll receive a verification of participation upon passing the post-assessment.

System Requirements

Course credentials

Subject Matter Experts:

Tiffany Benton, CDA
Man Wai Ng, D.D.S., M.P.H.
Amy Paundlay, CDA
Sarat Thikkurissy, D.D.S., M.S.

Creation date: March 2013
Updated: February 2017; October 2018
Date of next review: October 2021

CERP PACE 3

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Improve your confidence

Completing this course in Behavioral Guidance and Management of the Pediatric Dental Patient will improve your confidence and facilitate cooperation when working with pediatric as well as special needs patients.

By the end of the course, learners will be able to:

Understand age-specific mental, emotional and social developmental features of the pediatric dental patient
Recognize the importance of flexibility and adaptability when working with pediatric and special needs patients
Communicate and respond appropriately when faced with challenging behaviors in pediatric and special needs patients
Apply commonly used behavior management techniques to virtual interactions with pediatric and special needs patients