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Reaction of children to dental injection with 27- or 30-gauge needles.

Ram D, Hermida BL, Amir E

Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Hadassah School of Dental Medicine, The Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel. dianar@md.huji.ac.il

AIM: The purpose of this study was to assess children's reaction while receiving dental local anaesthesia with a 27- and a 30-gauge needle and to record their sensation. METHODS: Ninety-five children (43 boys and 52 girls) participated in this study. A random crossover design was used so that each child served as his or her own control, receiving each treatment on the opposite sides of the same arch (right vs. left). Each patient received an injection either with a 27- or 30-gauge needle during the first visit and during the second visit with the other needle. Objective and subjective evaluation were performed. RESULTS: Children's reactions to maxillary buccal infiltration either with a 27- or 30-gauge needle were similar. Significantly more children cried while receiving mandibular block injection with a 27-gauge needle than they did when receiving the injection with a 30-gauge needle (P = 0.002). According to subjective evaluation, most children rated both injections as a positive, non-painful experience. CONCLUSIONS: Mandibular block is less unpleasant, and children cry less when administered with a 30-gauge needle than they do when it is delivered with a 27-gauge needle. No difference in crying during injection is observed when maxillary infiltration is provided with 27- or 30-gauge needles.

Published 8 August 2007 in Int J Paediatr Dent, 17(5): 383-7.
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