ABSTRACT

The purpose of the current study was to compare the effectiveness of needleless jet injection versus traditional inferior alveolar nerve block anesthesia (INAB) in management of pain and anxiety during vital pulpotomy of mandibular second primary molars in children. Methods: A randomized, split-mouth clinical trial was conducted on thirty children aged 4-6 years, who required vital pulpotomies for bilateral carious second mandibular primary molars. The children were divided according to the technique of local anesthesia, INAB subgroup (control side) and needleless jet injection subgroup (examined side), followed by pulpotomy and restored with stainless steel crown. The children's perceptions of pain were evaluated using Wong-Baker FACES Pain Rating Scale. Additionally, anxiety levels of children were evaluated using Venham's anxiety and behavioral rating scale. Results: :According to Wong-Baker FACES Pain Rating Scale, a significant difference between the control (2.67±2.69) and examined subgroups (1.33±0.98) observed immediately after LA. While during pulpotomy, results revealed non-significant difference between the control (1.33±0.63) and examined (1.73±0.92) groups. On recording Venham's anxiety and behavioral rating scale, results showed significant difference between the control (1.27±0.96, 0.73±0.63) and examined (0.73±0.46, 0.87±0.92) groups immediately after LA and during pulpotomy, respectively.

Conclusion: Jet injector was effective during pulpotomy of lower second primary molars in children.