Use of Pre-Injection Diffusion of Local Anaesthetic as a Means of Reducing Needle Penetration Discomfort

The effectiveness of electronic pulsed soft tissue vibration compared with topical anaesthesia in reducing the pain of injection of local anaesthetics in adults: a randomized controlled split-mouth clinical trial

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of an electronic hand-held pulsed vibration device on the pain of local analgesia (LA) injection and physiologic changes. A prospective randomized controlled clinical trial using split-mouth (crossover) design was implemented. The control-side injection was performed after using topical anaesthesia. The experimental side injection was carried out without topical anaesthesia, but with the aid of a switched-on vibration device. Overall, 332 dental LA injections were given to 166 patients for routine exodontia. The pain at penetration and pain during injection were significantly lower in the experimental sides (vibrations sides) compared with those of the controls (P<0.001). Similarly, the heart rate changes at penetration and during injections were significantly lower in the experimental sides (P<0.001). The vibration device was clinically and statistically more effective than topical anaesthesia in the reduction of dental injection pain in adults, measured subjectively and objectively, regardless of the gender, injection technique (infiltration or block) or anxiety level.

Role of "Video Assisted Lecture" on Changing Albanian Undergraduate Students' Opinion Regarding Pain-free Dental Injections in Children

AIM

To evaluate the effectiveness of video assisted lecture in changing the opinions of dental students toward pain-free dental injections in children.

METHODS

The fifth-year students (n:62) of University of Medicine of Tirana, Faculty of Dental Medicine participated in the study. The study was conducted in two stages: first a Theoretical lecture (Stage 1), "Pain-free Local Analgesia Techniques in Children" was provided, and was followed by a second lecture supported by video recordings of real clinical cases (Stage 2). Students' opinions were evaluated by means of a short survey administered before the lectures, after the theoretical lecture, and after the video assisted lecture.

RESULTS

Before the study, only 47.9% of students believed in the possibility (agree and definitely agree) of pain-free local anesthesia in children, whereas after the study, the percentage had risen to 67.7% (p=0.0001). Baseline opinions of students changed significantly after the video-assisted lecture (p=0.0001). However, there is no statistical difference between mean scores of theoretical lecture (Stage 1) and video-assisted lecture (Stage 2).

CONCLUSIONS

Theoretical lecture (Stage 1) was found to be significantly effective in changing the opinions regarding "Pain-free dental injections in children," however, a video based dental education (Stage 2) was found to be relatively effective in supporting the change in dental students' opinion.