The pain-related behavior and pain perception associated with computerized anesthesia in pulpotomies of mandibular primary molars: A randomized controlled trial

Objective: The purpose of the study was to compare the pain-related behavior and the pain perception associated with three anesthetic techniques in pulpotomies of primary mandibular second molars: traditional inferior alveolar nerve block (IANB), IANB with computer-controlled local anesthetic delivery (CCLAD), and intraligamental anesthesia with CCLAD. Method and Materials: The sample comprised 91 randomly selected healthy children aged 5 to 9 years, who were scheduled for pulpotomy in the mandibular second molar. Patients were divided into three groups according to the type of anesthesia received. Group A received traditional IANB, group B received IANB with CCLAD, and group C received intraligamental anesthesia with CCLAD. Pain-related behavior and pain perception levels were assessed using the established behavior code and the Wong-Baker FACES Pain Rating Scale respectively. Results: The mean of pain-related behavior was significantly lower (P .001) in the intraligamental anesthesia with CCLAD group than in the other two groups. The pain perception scores were significantly higher in the traditional IANB group than in the IANB with CCLAD group, and the intraligamental anesthesia with CCLAD group (P = .044 and P .001 respectively). The mean ± SD of the pain perception of IANB was 1.39 ± 0.200, IANB with CCLAD was 0.87 ± 0.133 and ILA with CCLAD was 0.13 ± 0.063. Conclusion: Intraligamental anaesthesia with CCLAD was clearly associated with less pain than the IANB with or without CCLAD. Keywords: computerized anesthesia, pain behavior, pain perception, primary molars, pulpotomy