Date Presented 04/03/2025
Oral health is integral to well-being, yet many struggle because of heightened stress. This presentation will describe the feasibility, acceptability, and perceived effectiveness of the use of a weighted blanket during pediatric dental care.
Primary Author and Speaker: Leah I. Stein Duker
Additional Authors and Speakers: Riley McGuire
BACKGROUND: Dental fear/anxiety (DFA) has been linked to sensory over-responsivity and represents a barrier to oral health, often leading to behavioral and physiological distress. During dental care, weighted blankets are reported to calm the nervous system in adult populations via deep pressure sensation; however, their use has not yet been examined in pediatrics. The aim of this study was to examine the feasibility/acceptability of a weighted blanket during pediatric dental care.
METHOD: A convenience sample of children 6–12yrs (n = 20) used a weighted blanket during dental care in this cross-sectional study. Immediately following care, children, caregivers, and dentists independently completed self-report questions compiled from acceptability assessments scored on a 1 (completely disagree) to 5 (completely agree) Likert scale.
RESULTS: Caregivers and dentists overwhelmingly reported use of the weighted blanket to be acceptable, appropriate, feasible, and compatible with dental care (means = 4.37–4.81). All groups strongly agreed that the blanket was easy to use, comfortable, and they would like to use it in the future (means = 4.21–4.68). All groups expressed enthusiasm for the use of the blanket and reported they believed it would be effective to improve dental care experiences for children (means = 4.10–4.75).
CONCLUSION: Use of a weighted blanket during dental care is highly acceptable and desirable for children, their caregivers, and their dentists. Next steps should assess the efficacy of using these blankets to decrease DFA in children with and without special healthcare needs undergoing dental procedures.
IMPACT: This study contributes knowledge about the use of sensory integration concepts in dentistry. OTs can be key players in oral health, spearheading collaborations to investigate adapting the dental experience for this population. Interdisciplinary collaboration with dentistry is a new and evolving area for OT practice and research.
References
Stein Duker, L. I., Como, D. H., Jolette, C., Vigen, C., Gong, C. L., Williams, M. E., Polido, J. C., Floríndez-Cox, L. I., & Cermak, S. A. (2023). Sensory adaptations to improve physiological and behavioral distress during dental visists autistic children: A randomized crossover trial. JAMA Network Open, 6, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.16346
Como, D. H., Stein Duker, L. I., Polido, J. C., & Cermak, S. A. (2021). Oral health and autism spectrum disorders: A unique collaboration between Dentistry and Occupational Therapy. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18010135
Stein Duker, L. I., Grager, M., Giffin, W., Hikita, N., & Polido, J. C. (2022). The relationship between dental fear and anxiety, general anxiety/fear, sensory over-responsivity, and oral health behaviors and outcomes: A conceptual model. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19, 2380/1–20. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19042380
Chen, H. -Y., Yang, H., Meng, L. -F., Chan, P. -Y. S., Yang, C. -Y., & Chen, H. -M. (2016). Effect of deep pressure input on parasympathetic system in patients with wisdom tooth surgery. Journal of the Formosan Medical Association, 115, 853–859. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfma.2016.07.008
