RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Data are conflicting regarding the effect of professional staff attire on children at pediatric dental clinics. AIM: To compare the preferences of children and their parents in three countries, regarding the gender and attire of pediatric dentists. STUDY DESIGN: A multi-centered study was conducted in pediatric dental clinics in Israel (N=100), Uruguay (N=270) and Spain (N=200). Children, aged 4-12 years, and their parents were asked to choose the pediatric dentist they preferred from 5 pictures of the same male and 5 pictures of the same female, in different attire. RESULTS: In Israeli clinics, where half of the pediatric dentists were male, and they wore white coats or casual attire, these were preferred by children, with no preference regarding the dentist's gender. In Spain, where the majority of dentists were females, wearing surgical scrubs, children preferred female dentists with this attire. In Uruguay, where female dentists wore surgical or pediatric scrubs, these were preferred by children. Parents more often selected female than male dentists; they preferred pediatric scrubs for their children's dentists more often than their children preferred such attire. CONCLUSIONS: Children's preferences for the attire of pediatric dentists reflected the common wearing apparel for dentists at the clinics they attended.