A curriculum for behaviour and oral healthcare management for dentally anxious children—Recommendations from the Children Experiencing Dental Anxiety: Collaboration on Research and Education (CEDACORE).

Background: Dentists need training in the management of children's anxiety (DA), fear (DF) and behaviour management problems (DBMP) but little is known of their competence on this topic. Aim: To report dentists' opinions and attitudes about protective stabilisation and pharmacological techniques for the management of children with DA/DF/DBMP; to propose a postgraduate curriculum focussing on DA/DF/DBMP. Design: A survey of 301 Brazilian dentists and later a modified Delphi process to outline the curriculum in two phases: (a) face‐to‐face discussions with 33 early career researchers mentored by six researchers, both from UK and Brazil; (b) online discussions by eight early and senior researchers on the knowledge, experience, and competencies necessary for a specialist in paediatric dentistry in Brazil that should be included in the core curriculum of postgraduate courses. Results: Almost all (99.0%) of the survey respondents provide treatment to children with DA/DF/DBMP, and 91.2% do not systematically diagnose these conditions; 94.3% use protective stabilisation, and 20.0%‐30.0% have training in pharmacological techniques. The four‐domain framework supporting the proposed curriculum is as follows: DA/DF/DBMP assessment, non‐pharmacological and pharmacological approaches, and decision‐making. Conclusion: Dental curricula should be customised to solve the misconceptions and promote a comprehensive and positive attitude to DA/DF/DBMP by paediatric oral healthcare practitioners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]