Abstract

Children and youth with special health care needs, belongs to a group of individuals presenting several health issues of variable complexity and special care needs in health, one of them a successful dental treatment. The high prevalence of oral pathologies is not the only complication we found in dental attention; there are also behaviour and communication disorders, affecting the cooperation level in dental treatment. In spite of the limitations previously mentioned, different adaptations and techniques have surged in order to achieve a successful dental treatment. In this article we describe animal assisted therapy as a useful complementary method for pediatric dental treatment. Objective: Describe the experience of animal assisted therapy in pediatric dentistry treatment of children and youth with special health care needs. Methods: Descriptive-retrospective study performed in 2019, revision of 32 clinical digital records of Hospital, of children and youth with special health care needs, ages between 4-13 years old, and their pediatric dentistry treatment records with animal assisted therapy. Results: 32 patients with dental treatment, in 26 patients (81.25%) dental treatment was successful; 36 dental procedures were performed, 19 invasive and 17 non invasive. Conclusion: The implementation of animal assisted therapy as a complement of pediatric dentistry treatment had a high acceptance and allowed successful invasive and non invasive dental procedures in children and youth with special health care needs.