Evaluation of the effectiveness of sucrose versus xylitol application in minimizing pain related to dental injection in 5-7-year-old children - A randomized controlled pilot study.

BACKGROUND

Oral application of sweet-tasting solutions has found to be effective in minimizing pain on dental injection in children. Xylitol has never been tested in this regard.

AIM

The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of prior application of sucrose versus xylitol solution in minimizing pain on dental injection in 5-7-year-old children.

SETTINGS AND DESIGN

This study was a randomized controlled clinical trial.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Informed consent was taken. A total of 30 children who required maxillary buccal infiltration injection were selected. The children were randomly allocated into the sucrose group, xylitol group, or control group by lottery method. In the sucrose and xylitol groups, 30% sucrose or 30% xylitol solution was applied on the lateral surface of the tongue for 2 min. In the control group, distilled water was applied. In all the groups, the topical anesthetic was applied at the site of injection followed by buccal infiltration. A video was taken during injection, and the sound eye-motor (SEM) scale was recorded by a blinded examiner. Patients were asked to self-evaluate using the Wong-Baker Faces Pain Scale (WBFPS).

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS

Mann-Whitney test was used to analyze the data.

RESULTS

There was a statistically significant difference in the WBFPS and the SEM score between the sucrose and the control group (P < 0.05) and the xylitol and control group (P < 0.05). No statistically significant difference was found between the sucrose and xylitol group.

CONCLUSION

The application of xylitol solution before dental injection was as effective as sucrose solution in minimizing pain during the injection.