Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2017:2017:7941238.
doi: 10.1155/2017/7941238. Epub 2017 Feb 15.

Pain Experience and Behavior Management in Pediatric Dentistry: A Comparison between Traditional Local Anesthesia and the Wand Computerized Delivery System

Annelyse Garret-Bernardin  1 , Tiziana Cantile  1 , Vincenzo D'Antò  1 , Alexandros Galanakis  1 , Gabriel Fauxpoint  2 , Gianmaria Fabrizio Ferrazzano  3 , Sara De Rosa  1 , Giulia Vallogini  1 , Umberto Romeo  4 , Angela Galeotti  1
Affiliations

Pain Experience and Behavior Management in Pediatric Dentistry: A Comparison between Traditional Local Anesthesia and the Wand Computerized Delivery System

Annelyse Garret-Bernardin et al. Pain Res Manag. 2017.

Abstract

Aim. To evaluate the pain experience and behavior during dental injection, using the Wand computerized delivery system versus conventional local anesthesia in children and adolescents. Methods. An observational crossover split mouth study was performed on 67 patients (aged 7 to 15 years), requiring local anesthesia for dental treatments in both sides of the dental arch. Patients received both types of injections in two separate appointments, one with the use of a Computer Delivery System (the Wand STA system) and one with the traditional syringe. The following data were recorded: pain rating; changes in heart rate; level of collaboration; patient satisfaction. The data were analyzed using ANOVA for quantitative outcomes and nonparametric analysis (Kruskal-Wallis) for qualitative parameters. Results. The use of the Wand system determined significantly lower pain ratings and lower increase of heart rate than the traditional syringe. During injection, the number of patients showing a relaxed behavior was higher with the Wand than with the traditional local anesthesia. The patient level of satisfaction was higher with the Wand compared to the conventional local anesthesia. Conclusions. The Wand system may provide a less painful injection when compared to the conventional local anesthesia and it seemed to be better tolerated with respect to a traditional syringe.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests regarding the publication of this paper.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Score on Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) during local anesthesia. 38 of the 67 patients found the injection with the traditional syringe (red) to be more painful than the injection with the Wand (blue), while 12 found the injection with the Wand to be more painful than the injection with the traditional syringe.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Variation in Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) between Wand and traditional local anesthesia. There was a significant mean reduction of 1.09 VAS point (median 1) with the Wand compared with traditional syringe (p = 0.0003).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Variation in cardiac rate between Wand and traditional local anesthesia. 41 of the 67 patients had higher rate after injection with the traditional syringe than with the Wand, while 22 showed opposite results.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Score on modified Venham scale during local anesthesia. With the Wand methodology more patients have a modified Venham of zero (p = 0.019) than with the traditional local anesthesia.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Patients level of satisfaction. 29 patients showed a higher satisfaction after Wand anesthesia, while 12 had a higher satisfaction after traditional anesthesia.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Palm A. M., Kirkegaard U., Poulsen S. The Wand versus traditional injection for mandibular nerve block in children and adolescents: perceived pain and time of onset. Pediatric Dentistry. 2004;26(6):481–484. - PubMed
    1. Sixou J.-L., Marie-Cousin A., Huet A., Hingant B., Robert J.-C. Pain assessment by children and adolescents during intraosseous anaesthesia using a computerized system (QuickSleeper™) International Journal of Paediatric Dentistry. 2009;19(5):360–366. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-263X.2009.00983.x. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Kuscu O. O., Akyuz S. Is it the injection device or the anxiety experienced that causes pain during dental local anaesthesia? International Journal of Paediatric Dentistry. 2008;18(2):139–145. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-263X.2007.00875.x. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Ram D., Peretz B. Administering local anaesthesia to paediatric dental patients—current status and prospects for the future. International Journal of Paediatric Dentistry. 2002;12(2):80–89. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-263x.2002.00343.x. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Milgrom P., Coldwell S. E., Getz T., Weinstein P., Ramsay D. S. Four dimensions of fear of dental injections. Journal of the American Dental Association. 1997;128(6):756–762. doi: 10.14219/jada.archive.1997.0301. - DOI - PubMed

Substances