ABSTRACT Objective:

To evaluate the behaviour and stress of children undergoing restorative treatment with and without sedation.

Material and Methods:

Participants were 14 healthy children aged between 2.5 and 6 years and with a history of dental behavioural management problems. In the dental treatment visit, the child was treated with non-pharmacological techniques, and in the second, moderate sedation was added.

The child received the same procedure performed by a paediatric dentist in both visits:

composite resin restoration using local anaesthesia and rubber dam isolation. In both visits, saliva was collected at the children's arrival at the dental clinic, during local anaesthesia and at the end of treatment. The visits were filmed for later analysis of behaviour according to the Ohio State University Behavioural Rating Scale.

Results:

About 78.5% of children improved their behaviour from the first to the second visit. The salivary cortisol curve of the first visit was maintained in the second visit for 21.4% of children but varied in the remaining participants.

Conclusion:

Most children presented better behaviour and less stress when sedation was added to non-pharmacological techniques during dental care.