Investigating the Association between the Parenting Style with the Level of Fear and Cooperation of 4–12-Year-Old Children Referred to the Sari Dental Faculty in 2023

Background and purpose: Attending in a dental office is usually not easy for children who need dental services. Moreover, the level of children cooperation has a significant impact on choosing the appropriate treatment method. The goal of this study was to examine the association between the parenting style as well as the level of fear and cooperation among children aged 4-12 who were referred to Sari Dental School. Materials and methods: This cross-sectional study involved 150 children referred to Sari Dental School in 2023. The Baumrind questionnaire, children’s fear table, and Frankel index were used to measure the parenting style, children’s fear, and level of cooperation, respectively. Pearson’s correlation coefficient test and independent t-test were used in the analytical statistics of this study to investigate the relationship between dependent and independent variables. Results: Among the 150 participants, 70 (46.7%) were girls and 80 (53.3%) were boys. There was a significant relationship between authoritarian and permissive parenting styles and the level of fear and cooperation in the children. This association was positive for fear and negative for cooperation. Authoritative parenting style had a significant positive correlation with cooperation, unlike fear. A significant relation was observed between gender and fear, but no association was observed between gender and cooperation. Conclusion: According to the findings of this study, parenting style is related to children's level of fear and cooperation in dental visits, and parents have a remarkable influence on their child's behavior.