Behavior of Children Related to Numbness After Dental Local Anesthesia

Behavior of Children in the Following Appointment Related to Numbness Perception After Dental Local Anesthesia

In children, behavior management is critical to the success of pediatric dental procedures. Most of the studies on local anesthesia performed in children deal with the question how to avoid or minimize pain during injection. Due to the sensation of numbness children scratch the soft tissues and bite lips and tongue. In many cases, this may be kept in children's memory as a "painful experience" and may affect their behavior in the following visit. The purpose of this study is to evaluate children's reactions to the administration of local anesthetic injection in the mandible (mandibular block) and in the maxilla (supraperiosteal infiltration), and to assess their behavior in the following visit related to each type of injection.

Children between the ages of 4 to 7, undergoing dental treatment at the Department of Pediatric dentistry of the Hadassah School of Dental Medicine will participate in the study. All patients should be ASA Class I with no prior dental treatment who need at least two clinical sessions of similar operative procedures preceded by local anesthetic injection, one in each jaw, none of which due to emergency. Subjective and objective evaluation will be performed according to previously validated scales.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Age: 4-7
• Behavior: Frankel 3-4
• No sedation (premedication)
• ASA 1
• No dental treatment before
• Need for similar treatment in the upper and lower jaw
• No emergency treatment

Exclusion Criteria:

• Need of premedication
• Uneven treatment in each jaw