Efficacy of dental practitioners in injection techniques: Computerized device and traditional syringe

Objective: To compare the effect of clinicians on the behavioral pain reaction of children who received local anesthesia with a conventional technique and a computerized device (Wand, Milestone Scientific). Method and Materials: One hundred four children aged 6 to 12 years who needed operative dentistry using infiltrative anesthesia in the mandible and maxilla were selected for this study. The patients were divided into 2 groups, each assigned to a different clinician, and received anesthesia either by the Wand or conventional technique. Two experienced pediatric dentists performed all injections. During the injection, the modified behavioral pain scale was used for objective evaluation of the children. Results: Chi-square analysis revealed no statistically significant difference in the behavior of children when receiving the Wand or conventional technique within each dentist and between dentists (P > .05). Conclusion: There seemed to be no difference in perceived pain between the Wand and conventional injection performed by experienced clinicians in school-age children. Keywords: computerized anesthetic device, local anesthesia, traditional syringe, wand