Preferences and Perceptions of School Children in Relation to New Styles and Colors of Dental Attire

Abstract

New designs and styles of attire such as coats, hats, and masks, colored and with prints are emerging in the market and offered to healthcare professionals, and in many situations, the justification is aimed at minimizing the stress caused by the white coat and optimizing the child dental treatment. To Verify the preference and perception of schoolchildren in relation to the new color patterns of dental attire. Transversal Descriptive study, Quality Quantitative Approved by the Research Ethics Committee of Human Beings. The sample consisted of 748 students of both sexes, aged randomly selected in public and private schools in the city of Gurupi, in the State of Tocantins, Northern Brazil. The Study was conducted with an interview and test to schoolchildren. The children of public schools (50%) and private (46%) they preferred the traditional white coat and the most rejected was printed/colored coat. In the hat and mask the groups among schoolchildren presented a statistical difference for preference (p > 0.05). The mask rejected by children from private schools (70%) and public (84%) for being "ugly" was with an animal mouth. Children prefer the white color of coats, hats and masks, showing the selection by the traditional pattern, considering what would be "right" in their vision.