Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of VibraJect, a vibrating attachment for a traditional syringe, in reducing pain related disruptive behavior and self-reported pain in children receiving local anesthesia.
Methods: The procedure involved a randomized, controlled, single-blinded study of 90 children receiving local anesthesia for routine restorative procedures. Participants were randomly assigned to either a control (injection as usual) or experimental (injection using the VibraJect) group. Participants were recruited from a large, urban pediatric dental clinic within a university medical center.
Results: Using 2-way analysis of variance and 2-tailed, between-subject t tests, there were no significant differences between injection with and without the VibraJect on any measures of pain, including self-reported intensity, independent direct observations of pain related disruptive behavior, and subjective dentist ratings.
Conclusions: VibraJect did not provide any benefits over a conventional approach to anesthesia injection for children in this study.