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rev port estomatol med dent cir maxilofac . 2021;62(3):157-162 161

aged 8 years having the highest median (5.00) and those aged Ethical disclosures
10 years having the lowest median (2.00). This difference was
not found in the literature, making it impossible to compare
these findings. However, these data may indicate that the den- Protection of human and animal subjects. The authors
tist is seen as a stranger, being a source of fear for children, declare that no experiments were performed on humans or
since the discomfort expected can be associated with the per- animals for this study.

son who will perform the treatment. 21 Confidentiality of data. The authors declare that they have
Researches like the present one are relevant due to pro- followed their work center protocols on access to patient data
viding a better understanding of dental fear and factors sur- and for its publication.
rounding it. Being aware that detecting the different causes
2
of fear early is very important to solve the problem, knowing Right to privacy and informed consent. The authors have
the factors that generate fear in children, and identifying a obtained the written informed consent of the patients or sub-
potential relationship with age and/or sex allows the pedi- jects mentioned in the article. The corresponding author is in
atric dentist to adopt individual procedures in dental care possession of this document.
for a more pleasant moment and, if possible, minimizing
dental fear. Conflict of interest
Fun activities, games, drawings, and painting materials can
be offered in the waiting room to reduce anxiety levels in pe-
6
diatric patients, aiming to alleviate fear at the time of dental The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.
2
care. In addition, it is important to tighten the bond between
the pediatric patient and the dentist through consultations for
educational -preventive procedures. This approach can be ben- orcid
eficial to establishing the professional -patient relationship,
providing safety, confidence in the professional, and comfort Natália Medeiros Andrade 0000-0003-1059-8205
with the dental environment. Isla Camilla Carvalho Laureano 0000-0002-6621-1834
This study has some limitations, such as the cross- Lunna Farias 0000-0002-4077-6706
-sectional design, which does not allow establishing a cause- Liege Helena Freitas Fernandes 0000-0001-6431-7857
-effect relationship. Moreover, the sample size can be consid- Cibele da Cruz Prates 0000-0002-5135-7371
ered small, as it prevents the generalization of results to all Alessandro Leite Cavalcanti 0000-0003-3572-3332
children of the same age group, but rather for the target pop-
ulation. On the other hand, the use of a validated instrument
widely used in literature to assess dental fear and anxiety and references
the absence of similar studies in the country should be high-
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