Comparative Evaluation of Dental Anxiety and Fear in Children by using Camouflaged Syringe and Conventional Syringe

Introduction: Dental Fear (DF) and Dental Anxiety (DA) are the terms, used to symbolize early signs of Dental Phobia (DP). Dental anxiety in children due to sight of injection is the most common. Local anesthesia technique using camouflaged syringes has been tried to decrease anxiety and fear in children. This study was conducted by using most reliable scale is Venham Picture Test (VPT) and Face, Leg, Activity, Cry and Constability (FLACC) Behavioral Pain Assessment Scale to assess anxiety and fear in different groups of children being administered local anesthetic (LA) using either conventional or camouflaged syringe. Aim: To evaluate and compare dental anxiety and fear in children by using camouflaged and conventional syringe. Methodology: Total 80 children aged between 6–8 years were included. The appearance of Camouflage Syringe was child-friendly. Pictures of smiles, cars, cartoon characters, colourful fishes and sun were integrated in the design of Camouflage Syringe. The trial had two groups– Camouflaged (CaS) and conventional syringe (CoS) group. Inferior alveolar nerve block was administered in both the groups using the allocated type of syringes. VPT and FLACC scales were used. Results: A total of 52 male and 28 female children were integrated in the study. Comparison of the Venham picture test score and FLACC score in terms of [Mean (SD)] (SD – standard deviation) was done amongst both the groups using unpaired t-test. The FLACC score [Mean (SD)] for group I and II were, 2.53 (0.5) and 1.48 (0.5) respectively. The [Mean (SD)] for group I and Group II of VPT was 6.40 (1.2) and 3.85 (1.0) respectively, while that for FLACC was .53 (0.5) and 1.48 (0.5) respectively. Conclusion: The anxiety level of Female children was significantly higher than male children. By using Camouflaged Syringe, Fear and anxiety were significantly reduced.