Benefits and Application of Applied Behavior Analysis in Dentistry | Cheryl Knight, PhD

Course Description: Applied behavior analysis (ABA) has a long history of promoting the medical and dental health of individuals diagnosed with intellectual and developmental disabilities. However, the peer-reviewed literature supporting its use in dental settings is limited. This presentation reviews a selection of ABA-based assessment and intervention strategies that may benefit individuals who actively avoid daily dental healthcare, office visits and routine or complex dental procedures. These examples highlight the potential benefits of ABA as an adjunct to dental healthcare, or when possible, inclusion of ABA in an interdisciplinary dental practice. The presentation ends by sharing a recently published ABA conceptualization of “choice” & asks whether what we routinely perceive as “compliance” may sometimes be extreme fear. Course Objectives: 1. Describe two or more ways that applied behavior analysis (ABA) contributes to routine, daily dental care. 2. Discuss ways ABA can be included as part of a dental practice and can contribute to office-based visits/procedures. 3. Describe an ABA conceptualization of “fight, flight, or freeze.”