Aim: This clinical study evaluated and compared pain perception of the inferior alveolar nerve block and buccal infiltration techniques in children using Conventional syringe and STA Wand® device.
Material and Method: This clinical research involved 80 children between five and eight years of age, exhibiting positive or definitely positive behavior patterns according to the Frank behavior rating scale (FBRS), who required simple extraction or restoration. Children were randomly divided into two main groups (n=40), Conventional Syringe (control group) and STA Wand® device study group. Then, each main group was subdivided into two equal subgroups (n=20) based on the type of injection techniques buccal infiltration (BI) or inferior alveolar nerve block (IANB). To evaluate pain during administration of Mepivacaine anesthetic solution, children were asked to complete the Wong-Baker FACES Pain Rating Scale (WBFS) and the provider-filled Sound, eye, and motor (SEM) scale. Data was collected and statistically analyzed.
Results: There was a statistically significant difference according to SEM scale between the studied groups (P≤0.05). Sound, Eye & Motor scale, mean score was statistically significantly higher in Conventional group as compared to STA group, for each subscale and total SEM. Additionally, significant differences were observed in WBFS scores among device types (P=0.026). For BI and IANB, no significant differences in pain experiences were found according to the WBFS. However, significant differences (P≤0.05) in SEM pain scores were observed between groups, depending on injection techniques employed.
Conclusion: STA Wand® computer control device leads to lower pain scores compared to the conventional syringe method.