Letters to the Editor

I wish to highlight how the current COVID-19 pandemic has affected the effective behaviour management of children. Children with anxiety issues related to dentistry are usually referred to community dental services where dentists are able to spend extra time and effort acclimatizing them to dental treatment. However, owing to current changes in surgery fallow time and the fear of children being asymptomatic carriers, this has made current efforts all the more difficult.

Children tend to pick up on non-verbal communication and body language that provides reassurance and the impression of a child-friendly environment.¹ However, this is very difficult to accomplish due to enhanced PPE protocols, which may seem very strange and alien-like to children.² Voice control, which relies on the change in one's intonation to influence a child's behaviour, is also much more difficult to implement because this is easily muffled with the use of a visor and FFP3 mask.¹