Efficacy of external cold and a vibrating device in reducing discomfort of dental injections in children: A split mouth randomised crossover study

Abstract

Aim: To study the discomfort and fear associated with maxillary infiltration injections when using a combination of external cold and a commercially available vibrating device. Methodology: A total of 60 children aged 7 years old participated in this split mouth randomised crossover study. The control intervention comprised of the administration of 1.8 ml of 2% lidocaine with 1:100,000 adrenaline using a 24 mm 30 gauge needle, while the test intervention used external cold and a commercially available vibrating device in addition to the control protocol. The heart rate of the child at the time of injection was used as an objective measure and the Wong–Baker pain scale was used as a subjective measure of the child’s discomfort. The face, limbs, arms, cry and consolability (FLACC) scale was used to record the child’s pain as perceived by the dentist. Results: Children reported a significantly lower Wong–Baker score and the operators observed a significantly lower heart rate and FLACC scores in the test visit than the control visit. Conclusions: Combining external cold with vibrating devices might be effective in reducing discomfort and fear in children undergoing infiltration dental analgesia. Clinical trials Identifier: NCT02675387.