Assessing an active distracting technique for local anesthetic injection in pediatric dental patients: repeated deep breathing and blowing out air.

The aim of the study was to assess the effect of an active distraction technique that included the repeated breathing and blowing out of air on the pain behavior and facial display of children receiving local anesthesia injections prior to dental treatment. Fifty children between the ages of 3 and 7 years and who were undergoing dental treatment in a pediatric dental clinic were selected for this study. The children were randomly assigned to an intervention group or to a control group. The intervention group of 25 children was told to repeatedly breathe deeply before and during the administration of the injection and to blow the air out. The 25 control group children were given the injection in the slow manner without the repeated breathing and air blowing. Children in the intervention group demonstrated significantly less eyelid squeezing (P = 0.04). Also, more children in the intervention group than in the control group significantly expressed their wish to have the same technique used during the second visit (p = 0.033). Children in the intervention group generally demonstrated less hand and torso movements, less eyebrow bulging, and expressed less pain than in the control group. Boys significantly reported less pain after the injection. The results of this study indicate some advantages of distraction techniques (deep breaths and blowing air) prior to and during the administration of a local anesthetic injection in children.

RCT Entities:   Population Interventions Outcomes