Background: Dental anxiety is an abnormal feeling or a dreadful feeling that keeps the child away from visiting a dentist. Dental anxiety can lead to dental neglect in children compromising their oral health and impacting their quality of life.

Aim: The aim of the study was to assess the effectiveness of dental app versus tell-play-do in management of child behaviour before and after dental treatment.

Materials and methods: Sixty children in the age group of 4-12 years were divided into two groups. Group I achieved intervention through the use of mobile dental app “Little Lovely Dentist” available on Google play store on the android platform of smart phones whereas Group II was explained about the procedure through tell-play-do. Heart rate was recorded with the use of pulse oximeter and the anxiety levels were estimated using Facial Image Scale before, during and after oral prophylaxis and OHI-S. The subjects were called for follow up after 7, 14 and 21 days to evaluate if the intervention procedure was able to positively influence the child’s aptitude. Statistical analysis was done using independent t test.

Results: The average heart rate, facial image scale and OHI-S scores reduced after interventions.