A new article titled “Efficacy of administering a sugar-free flavor before dental injections on pain perception in children: A split-mouth randomized crossover clinical trial” appears in International Journal of Paediatric Dentistry written by Ola B. Al-Batayneh and et. al. (April 16, 2024).
Getting a shot at the dentist can be scary for kids, but a this study suggests a simple trick might help: sugar-free flavoring. Researchers compared giving kids a sugar-free flavor before a dental injection to giving them plain water. The study included 84 children ages 4 to 9 who needed injections on both sides of their mouths. One side received injections after a sugar-free flavor was applied, and the other side received water.
Image by Jenny Friedrichs from Pixabay
The kids had their heart rates measured as an objective indicator of pain using a fingertip pulse oximeter. Further the sound, eyes, and motor (SEM) scale score was used to assess pain. The researchers found the kids who got the flavor had:
- Lower heart rate during the injection
- Smaller increase in heart rate compared to before the injection
- Lower scores on a pain scale that considers facial expressions, body movements, sounds, and agitation
The type of flavor or whether a child liked sweet things in general didn’t seem to matter. The study also suggests that giving the flavor first during a dental visit might be even more effective.
The study had limitationsas it used infiltration injections only. More research is needed on other types of injections, such as inferior alveolar block and palatal infiltration injections. Overall, this research shows a sugar-free flavoring can be a safe and easy way to make dental injections less painful for children.