According to the study, if mothers in childhood choked during treatment at the dentist, then there is a high probability (72%) that their children will experience the same sensitive gag reflex.
The authors write that the mother's propensity to vomit, past unsuccessful dental procedures, and a high level of dental phobia are risk factors for children suffering from a sensitive gag reflex.
“Because most of the influencing factors are still associated with dental phobia, dentists can reduce anxiety and prevent the formation of an iatrogenic gag reflex with proper behavioral management,” write the authors, led by Dr. Burcu Gucetmez Topal from the Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Afyonkarahisar University of Medical Sciences in Turkey.
To investigate the prevalence and influencing factors of the sensitive gag reflex in children aged 7 to 14 years in dental settings, the authors conducted a cross-sectional study of 320 children and their mothers. The mothers filled out questionnaires, including income information and their children's past medical and dental experience.
To assess the level of fear in children, a dental scale of the schedule for examining children's fear was used. And to measure the level of anxiety of mothers, a modified scale of dental anxiety was used. A special questionnaire was used to assess problems associated with vomiting.
The prevalence of the gag reflex among children was approximately 34%, while among mothers it was about 20%. The relationship between retching in children and mothers was statistically significant (χ2 = 53.121, p < 0.001). In addition, the authors write that the risk of an infant gagging was increased 6.83-fold (p < 0.001) when his mother deliberately choked as an experiment.
In addition, children with higher rates of dental phobia were at increased risk of vomiting (odds ratio [OR] = 1.52, p = 0.023), as well as children who received dental treatment in public hospitals as opposed to private dental offices (OR = 10.990, p < 0.001), authors write.
The study had several limitations, including the fact that it was not known whether the children's fathers or other family members had a tendency to vomit in dental offices. Only mothers were included in the study, as they were thought to be more closely related to children. Therefore, more research is needed to come to more definitive conclusions from these results.
In addition, in the future, longitudinal studies should be carried out to study the causative factors of the gag reflex in children.
“Maternal gagging can be explained by the fact that neutral stimuli are closely associated with the gag reflex, and research shows that gagging can occur through various mechanisms,” write Topal and her colleagues.