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.