Autonomic and behavioral responses to seven dental procedures were studied in 21 pedodontic patients aged six to 12. When mean pulse rate, pulse amplitude, absolute skin conductance, and skin-conductance responses were compared over all subjects, the injection of the local anesthetic consistently elicited the greatest response. In five patients where anesthesia was inadequate, painful high-speed drilling also elicited large responses. When autonomic responses were compared between high-anxious and low-anxious children, both groups showed similar transient responsiveness. High-anxious children showed a significantly higher basal level of sympathetic activity.
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West et al. (1983) studied this question.
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