The behaviour of extended duties dental nurses and the acceptance of fluoride varnish application in preschool children

Background Extended duties dental nurses (EDDNs) have been trained to deliver fluoride varnish applications to preschool children as part of the Childsmile initiative in Scotland. Objectives To determine a detailed behavioural profile of the EDDNs during the administration of the fluoride varnish to confirm professional manner and identify differences in nurse behaviours between successful and unsuccessful application sessions. Methods Nurse-child interactions were video recorded and nurse behaviours coded and analysed using a specially developed coding scheme (SABICS). Behaviour frequency and duration were measured and correlations were calculated. Differences in behaviour were examined between successful and unsuccessful application sessions. Results Three hundred and three interactions were coded out of 456 recorded application sessions. No incident occurred where nurses threatened or placed undue stress on a child. In unsuccessful, compared with successful, application sessions, nurses demonstrated higher frequency and duration of the following behaviours: 'permission seeking', 'offer of task alternative', 'information seeking' and 'reassurance', controlling for length of procedure. Whereas with successful applications, 'praise', 'instruction' and 'information-giving' were used more frequently and for a longer duration, compared with unsuccessful applications. Conclusions The EDDNs demonstrated a professional manner working with preschool children. They behaved differently between successful and unsuccessful application sessions. Sequential analysis is needed to examine causal effects of behaviours and its effects on delivery outcomes.