title: Pain Perception: Computerized versus Traditional Local Anesthesia in Pediatric Patients.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Local anesthetic injection is one of the most anxiety- provoking procedure for both children and adult patients in dentistry. A computerized system for slow delivery of local anesthetic has been developed as a possible solution to reduce the pain related to the local anesthetic injection.
  
  
  METHODS
  The present study was conducted to evaluate and compare pain perception rates in pediatric patients with computerized system and traditional methods, both objectively and subjectively.
  
  
  METHODS
  It was a randomized controlled study in one hundred children aged 8-12 years in healthy physical and mental state, assessed as being cooperative, requiring extraction of maxillary primary molars. Children were divided into two groups by random sampling - Group A received buccal and palatal infiltration injection using Wand, while Group B received buccal and palatal infiltration using traditional syringe. Visual Analog scale (VAS) was used for subjective evaluation of pain perception by patient. Sound, Eye, Motor (SEM) scale was used as an objective method where sound, eye and motor reactions of patient were observed and heart rate measurement using pulse oximeter was used as the physiological parameter for objective evaluation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Patients experienced significantly less pain of injection with the computerized method during palatal infiltration, while less pain was not statistically significant during buccal infiltration. Heart rate increased during both buccal and palatal infiltration in traditional and computerized local anesthesia, but difference between traditional and computerized method was not statistically significant.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  It was concluded that pain perception was significantly more during traditional palatal infiltration injection as compared to computerized palatal infiltration, while there was no difference in pain perception during buccal infiltration in both the groups.
authors.affiliation: From ESIC Dental College.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mittal
authors.affiliation: From ESIC Dental College.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.affiliation: From ESIC Dental College.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Srivastava
authors.affiliation: From ESIC Dental College.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.affiliation: From ESIC Dental College.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sharma
mesh_terms: D000766:Anesthesia, Dental / Q000379:methods*; D000779:Anesthetics, Local / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems / Q000295:instrumentation; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007267:Injections / Q000295:instrumentation; D008012:Lidocaine / Q000008:administration & dosage; D008297:Male; D010147:Pain Measurement / Q000379:methods; D058748:Pain Perception / Q000187:drug effects*; D013594:Syringes; D013813:Therapy, Computer-Assisted; D014081:Tooth Extraction / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D000779:Anesthetics, Local; D008012:Lidocaine