Role of Colors in Pediatric Dental Practices

Objective: This study evaluated the association between colors and emotions in a pediatric dental population. Study design: In this randomized cross-sectional study, 100 children aged 6–12 years were categorized as non-anxious and anxious using Corah's Dental Anxiety Scale–Revised. They were then instructed to color two cartoon faces, one depicting happiness emotion and the other, sadness, with any of six colors provided. Data obtained were statistically analyzed. Results: The mean Corah's Dental Anxiety scores were 11.7 and 4.97 for the anxious and non-anxious children, respectively. Both groups expressed the highest preference for the color yellow for happiness emotion. No significant differences were observed between color choices in either group (p>0.05), except for black which was not chosen by any child for happiness (p<0.005). Children in both groups significantly preferred red for sadness emotion. No significant differences were observed between color choices in the anxious group (p>0.05). In the non-anxious group, yellow assumed significant preference over green (p<0.05). Conclusions: Yellow was the most-preferred color and black, the least-preferred, for happiness emotion, whereas, for sadness emotion, red and green were the most- and least-preferred colors, respectively. Color preference was not affected by the presence of dental anxiety.

child-friendly colors, dental environment, colors and dental attitude

1. Gordon D, Heimberg RG, Tellez M, Ismail AI. A critical review of approaches to the treatment of dental anxiety in adults. J Anxiety Disord; 27(4):365-78. 2013.

2. Klingberg G, Broberg AG. Dental fear/anxiety and dental behaviour management problems in children and adolescents: a review of prev-alence and concomitant psychological factors. Int J Paediatr Dent; 17(6):391-406. 2007.

3. Krikken JB, Ten Cate JM, Veerkamp JS. Child dental fear and general emotional problems: a pilot study. Eur Arch Paediatr Dent; 11(6):283-6. 2010.

4. Park JG. Color perception in pediatric patient room design: Healthy chil-dren vs. pediatric patients. Higher Education Research and Development; 2:6-28. 2009.

5. Hemphill M. A note on adults color-emotion associations. J Gen Psychol; 157:275-81. 1996.

6. Abbasi MA, Talaei A, Talaei A, Rezaei A. The use of appropriate colors in the design of children’s room: a short review. Int J of Pediatr; 10(2):1-4. 2014.

7. Ulrich RS. Nature verses urban scenes; some psycho-physiological effects. Environt Behavior; 13:523-56. 1981.

8. Saito M. Comparative studies on color preference in Japan and other Asian regions, with special emphasis on the preference for white. Color Research and Application; 21(1):35- 49. 1996.

9. Corah NL. Assessment of a dental anxiety scale. J Am Dent Assoc; 97(5):816-9. 1978.

10. Carruthers HR, Morris J, Tarrier N, Whorwell P. The Manchester color wheel: Development of a novel way of identifying color choice and its validation in healthy, anxious and depressed individuals. BMC Med Res Methodol; 10:1-16. 2010.

11. Munsell AH. A pigment color system and notation. Am J Psychol; 23(2):236-44. 1912.

12. Ekman P, Freisen WV. Facial signs of emotional experience. J Pers Soc Psychol; 39:1125-34. 1980.

13. Boyatzis, CJ, Varghese R. Children’s emotional associations with colors. J Gen Psychol; 155:77-85. 1994.

14. Cimbalo RS, Beck KL, Sendziak DS. Emotional toned pictures and color selection for children and college students. J Gen Psychol; 133:303-4. 2014.

15. Ballast DK. Interior design reference manual. Belmont, CA: Professional Pub. Inc.; 2002.

16. Lang J. Creating architectural theory: The role of the behavioral sciences in environmental design. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold; 1993.

17. Wexner LB. The degree to which colors (hues) are associated with mood-tones. J Appl Psychol; 6:432-6. 1954.

18. Schaie KW. Scaling the association between colors and mood tones. Am J Psychol; 74:266-73. 1961.

19. Schaie KW. A Q-sort study of color-mood association. J Proj Tech; 25:341-6. 1996.

20. Nolan RF, Dai Y, Stanley PD. An investigation of relationship between color choice and depression measured by the Beck Depression Inventory. Percep Mot Skills; 81:1195-200. 1995.

21. Birren F. Aspects of light and color bearing on the reactions of living things and the welfare of human beings. Chicago: Color and Human Response; 1978.

22. Sharpe DT. The psychology of color and design. Chicago: Nelson-Hall; 1974.

23. Kotler P. Atmospherics as a marketing tool. Journal of Retailing; 49(4):48-61. 1973.

24. Gerard RM. Differential effects of colored lights on psycho-physiological functions [unpublished doctoral dissertation], University of California; 1957.

25. Jacobs KW, Suess, JF. Effects of four psychological primary colors on anxiety state. Perceptual and Motor Skills; 41:207-10. 1975.

26. Naz Kaya. Relationship between color and emotion: a study of college students. USA: The University of Georgia; 2004.

27. Linton H. Color consulting: A Survey of International color design. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold; 1991.