Dental fear and anxiety are problems that a dentist encounters in his daily work with children and adults. The control of the child's behavior in the office is achieved through continuous cooperation between the dentist, the child, and the parent. The goal of this collaboration is to shape the patient’s positive behavior and cultivate a cooperative patient for life. Knowing the basic psychological characteristics of development and behavior enables proper approach to the child, contributes to the establishment of a better relationship with the child and ensures easier and better treatment. Parents play an important role in forming a cooperative patient. Their role begins even before the birth – in preventive procedures in pregnancy, and continues with the first examination of the child around his/her first birthday, by preparing the child for the first examination and the implementation of oral hygiene and preventive procedures. The first examination is extremely important for the dentist to emphasize the importance of preserving deciduous teeth and motivate the parent and child to maintain their health. Research has shown a significant correlation between maternal anxiety and increased caries findings in child’s oral cavity. However, the assumption that parents whose children have early childhood caries show a higher degree of dental anxiety than the parents of children who do not have early childhood caries has been refuted.