Pediatric Study Finds Two-Stage Injections Ease Needle Anxiety and Pain

A simple, two-stage injection technique can reduce pain and ease fear of local injections. That’s the conclusion of a study that involved 100 pediatric subjects ages 7 to 13 who needed bilateral local anesthetic injections. These included inferior alveolar nerve blocks, posterior superior alveolar nerve blocks, and maxillary and mandibular buccal infiltrations for restorative, endodontic or extraction treatments.

In “Evaluation of 2-Stage Injection Technique in Children,” published in Anesthesia Progress, the authors noted that subjects received either a conventional injection or a two-stage injection at their first appointment. A week later, each child re ceived the other injection on the op posite side of the mouth. Pain perception was evaluated using the Wong–Baker FACES Pain Rating Scale and the Sound Eye Motor scale. They found that by placing a gel anesthetic, depositing a small amount of injectable anesthetic, and then waiting five minutes, the full injection was less painful compared to the conventional technique.

From Decisions in Dentistry. July 2016;1(09):8.