Sir, as a community dentist, I found the recent 'top tips' article on managing dentally anxious patients1 to be a great summary of advice. Another behavioural management technique worth mentioning is positive reinforcement. I have found that gift-giving works wonders for anxious children. Stickers are an excellent reward, but my glove balloon animals (Fig. 1) have always helped to calm an anxious child, enabling them to enjoy the dental visit and work towards overcoming their phobia. The British Society of Paediatric Dentistry (BSPD) has published guidance for non-pharmacological behavioural management and cites a study that concluded children who received prizes regularly reported less dental fear.2

Fig. 1
figure 1

Various glove balloon animals and characters

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