2025 Catalog: All Courses

Behavior guidance is a valuable skill set commonly used by dental professionals and involves the intentional use of specific strategies or techniques with the goal of helping children learn how to manage their own behavior. Successful utilization of behavior guidance techniques promotes cooperation, reduces anxiety and dental fear, and helps to ensure the delivery of safe and quality dental care. Behavior guidance techniques require the dental professional to maintain clear and positive communication, involves teaching children appropriate social rules, how to regulate their emotions and make good choices. These techniques often incorporate positive and bidirectional communication between the dental team and the patient and is often tailored specifically to each individual child's needs and their level of psychological or emotional development. Essentially, it's the process of guiding a child's behavior to be positive and cooperative during dental treatment.

For more in depth information and CDE credit please review the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry Reference Manual article, “Behavior Guidance for the Pediatric Dental Patient” and answer the post-discussion questions.


•   https://www.aapd.org/globalassets/media/policies_guidelines/bp_behavguide.pdf

•   https://www.aapd.org/globalassets/media/policies_guidelines/g_behaviorguidance.pdf

1]   Define behavior guidance and describe the difference between basic and advanced behavior guidance techniques
2]   Identify the 6 defined goals of behavior guidance.
3]   Discuss the differences and similarities between Tell-Show-Do, Ask-Tell-Ask, Positive Reinforcement, Distraction and Memory Restructuring behavior guidance techniques.

David Burke — Personal Description / Biography not available. For follow-up questions, please contact the speaker at david.burke@cskthealth.org.

The speaker has no conflicts of interest to report.

It is the policy of the Indian Health Service, Division of Oral Health, that faculty/planners disclose any financial or other relationships with commercial companies whose products may be discussed in the educational activity. The Indian Health Service, Division of Oral Health, also requires that faculty disclose any unlabeled or investigative use of pharmaceutical products and medical devices. Images that have been falsified or manipulated to misrepresent treatment outcomes are prohibited.

None of the faculty/planners for this activity has a conflict of interest, and there is no use of unlabeled or investigative pharmaceutical products or medical devices. No images have been falsified or manipulated to misrepresent treatment outcomes.The educational objectives, content, and selection of educational methods and instructors are conducted independent of any commercial entity.

The IHS Division of Oral Health is an accredited sponsor of continuing education under the American Dental Association Continuing Education Recognition Program (CERP). ADA CERP is a service of the American Dental Association to assist dental professionals in identifying quality providers of continuing dental education. ADA CERP does not approve or endorse individual courses or instructors, nor does it imply acceptance of credit hours by boards of dentistry. Concerns or complaints about a CE provider may be directed to the IHS at IHS CDE Coordinator or to the Commission for Continuing Education Provider Recognition at CCEPR.ada.org

Please Make Checks Payable to: Indian Health Service.

Tuition must be paid in full 8 weeks prior to the start date of any course. Request for refunds must be received in writing at least two weeks before the course begins. For each refund request, there will be an administrative charge of $100. No refunds will be made to registrants who fail to attend a course. If IHS CDE program cancels a course, then 100% of the tuition will be refunded.