Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Needle Vibration During Injection in Relieving the Pain of Local Anesthesia in Children

Abstract

Background & Aim: uncooperative behavior of children due to dental anxiety may interfere with the effective delivery of dental care and compromise the quality of treatment provided.

Injection of local anesthesia is one of the most anxiety-inducing stimuli in pediatric dentistry.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to assess the effect of the vibration-assisted syringe on pain perception in children during various intra-oral injections of local anesthesia, as well as the anxiety expressed by children receiving various intra-oral injections using the vibration-assisted syringe.

Methods and materials: this study was conducted as a prospective randomized controlled clinical trial. A total number of 75 children aged 6-9 years was selected from patients visiting the pediatric dental clinic at Damascus university. The children were assigned into three equal groups (25 children each) according to the type of intra-oral injection needed for the treatment. groups (Group 1: received upper buccal infiltrations, Group 2: received posterior palatal infiltrations, Group 3: received inferior alveolar nerve block) this study was conducted considering the split mouth design. Each child was subjected to both anesthetic injections; the conventional and the vibration-assisted in two separate dental visits with two weeks apart. Immediately following the administration, pain perceived was assessed using visual analogue scale (VAS) while the anxiety was assessed using Faces Anxiety Scale (FAS).

Results: on comparing the difference in pain perception by VAS, there is significant difference between VI (vibrant injection) and CI (conventional injection) for all groups (P< 0.001), and VI had significantly lower results compared to CI.

On comparing the difference in anxiety by FAS, there was a significant difference between the two methods of injection for group 1 (P <0.001), and group 3 (P <0.001), and VI had significantly lower results compared to CI, while there was not a significant difference for group 2 (p=o.614).

Conclusions: Based on this research, Vibraject is less painful than conventional injections. Some children have less anxiety when given with a Vibraject syringe than with a regular syringe. Vibraject may be a promising local anesthetic in children. However, more research is still needed to confirm the effectiveness of Vibraject in providing a local anesthetic for less painful teeth in children.