Assessment and Management of Pain in Pediatric Dentistry

Abstract

Pain is an unpleasant combination of feelings and sensations, which is hard to define. There are several tools for the assessment of pain in children. Once the extent of the pain is assessed, proper non-pharmacological or pharmacological strategies can be applied in the management of pain in children. The purpose of this article is to review briefly the assessment and management of pain in pediatric dentistry.

The Effıcacy of External Cooling and Vibration on Decreasing the Pain of Local Anesthesia Injections During Dental Treatment in Children: A Randomized Controlled Study

“…Therefore, nonpharmacological and pharmacological methods are recommended to decrease the experience of pain in children. 6 This study evaluated the impact of external cooling and vibration devices on the pain caused by injections applied to the site of local anesthesia during dental treatment in children and concluded that these applications were quite effective on the pain experienced by the injection.…”

“…4 Nonpharmacological and pharmacological methods are recommended to manage pain in children. 6 Sedation, anesthesia, and analgesia are generally used as pharmacological methods, 7 and benzodiazepines and nitrous oxide are among the pharmacological agents that are used most frequently for this purpose. 8 In addition, many nonpharmacological behavior guidance techniques have also been described for pain and fear management.…”