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Background: Dental caries is a multifactorial disease that manifests itself in primary and permanent dentitions. Pit and fissure sealants have become the most effective noninvasive treatment for addressing teeth with deep pits and fissures in children. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the behavior of the child when administering the pit and fissure sealant using the rubber dam and MiniDam. Methodology: Fifty‑two children in the age range of 9–12 years were randomly allocated into two groups: Group I, rubber dam and Group II, MiniDam. The children were randomly assigned into two groups with 26 members in Group 1 (rubber dam isolation) and 26 members in Group 2 (MiniDam isolation). Children’s anxiety was assessed using the modified Venham scale and heart rate. The children’s pain intensity was assessed using Memojis Pain Scale. The data collected were tabulated and statistically analyzed using SPSS software. The level of significance was established at 0.05. Results: Intergroup comparison of heart rates showed a statistically significant difference for both the groups at various intervals (P value 0.05), that is, before placing the dam, with the dam, and during treatment. Pain and anxiety scores showed a statistically significant difference in both the groups before and after the procedure (P < 0.05). Conclusions: The use of MiniDam can offer a better option for the pit/fissure sealant procedure due to its unique qualities, including simplicity of placement, improved behavior management, and less chair time in children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The success of root canal procedures depends on cleaning and shaping of canals. There are several instrumentation techniques available for root canal preparation. Recently, exclusive rotary file systems called Kedo-SG Blue and Prime-Pedo have been introduced for root canal preparation in primary teeth. The inherent flexibility of these files allows them to preserve the anatomy of curved canals in primary molars. Aim: To compare the instrumentation time, obturation time, and quality of obturation using two paediatric rotary file systems, Kedo-SG BlueTM and Prime-PedoTM, in mandibular primary molars. Materials and Methods: A randomised clinical trial was conducted in the outpatient Department of Paediatric and Preventive Dentistry, Narayana Dental College and Hospital, Nellore Andhra Pradesh, India, from February 1, 2019 to January 20, 2020. Fifty primary molars with necrotic pulp were included and randomly divided into two groups, with 25 teeth in each group. Group 1 and Group 2 were instrumented with Kedo-SG BlueTM and Prime-PedoTM, respectively. The time taken for instrumentation and obturation was noted in minutes, and the quality of root canal filling was recorded as optimal, underfilled, or overfilled. The data were statistically analysed using an independent Student's t-test for time measurements and a Chi-square test for the quality of obturation. Results: There was a statistically significant difference in instrumentation time and obturation time between the two groups (p-value=0.009; 0.011). The Kedo-SG BlueTM rotary system showed a better quality of obturation compared to the Prime-PedoTM rotary system, although the difference was not statistically significant (p-value=0.22). Conclusion: The Kedo-SG BlueTM rotary system demonstrated shorter instrumentation and obturation times, as well as a higher number of optimally filled canals compared to the Prime-PedoTM rotary system. Therefore, the Kedo-SG BlueTM rotary system exhibited better clinical performance in primary molars than the Prime-PedoTM rotary system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Distraction is a technique used to divert a patient's attention from unpleasant procedures. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of kaleidoscopy, virtual reality, and video games in reducing anxiety and pain during invasive dental procedures in children., Methods: Sixty-six children aged 6 to 9 years were randomly assigned to three groups during local anesthesia administration: Group 1 (kaleidoscope), Group 2 (virtual reality), and Group 3 (mobile video games). The anxiety of the children was evaluated using physiological measures (heart rate) at three different time points: before, during, and after the procedure. The Raghavendra, Madhuri, and Sujata pictorial scale was used as a subjective measure before and after the procedure. Subjective measures of pain were assessed using the Wong-Baker Faces Pain Scale. The data were statistically analyzed using the Kruskal-Wallis and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests., Results: In the intergroup comparison, there were no statistically significant differences in the physiological measures of anxiety scores between the three groups before, during, and after distraction. Raghavendra, Madhuri, and Sujata pictorial scale scores were assessed before and after distraction, but no statistically significant differences were observed. Among the three groups, the children in Group 2 showed a significant reduction in pain scores., Conclusion: Compared with kaleidoscopes and video games, virtual reality is a promising distraction technique for reducing dental fear, anxiety, and pain during local anesthesia administration in children., Competing Interests: DECLARATION OF INTEREST: The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Journal of Dental Anesthesia and Pain Medicine.)

Background: The objective of behavioral guidance is to establish effective communication that aligns with a child's requirements to manage disruptive behavior. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the Tell-Show-Do and Ask-Tell-Ask techniques in managing dental anxiety in children during their initial appointment., Methods: The study included 50 children (28 boys and 22 girls) without any prior experience between the ages of 7 and 11 at their first dental visit. The children were randomly categorized into two groups: Group 1, Tell Shows Do, and Group 2, Ask-Tell-Ask. Subsequently, all children underwent noninvasive treatment procedures such as restorations, sealants, and oral prophylaxis. Furthermore, behavioral management techniques were employed based on the allocated group. Finally, anxiety levels for all children were assessed using the Raghavendra, Madhuri, and Sujata Pictorial Scale (RMS-PS) and heart rate at three different intervals (before, during, and after). The obtained data were entered into Microsoft Excel, and statistical analysis was performed using SPSS software. A paired t-test and Mann-Whitney U-test were used to compare the mean and median values of the two groups and determine their effectiveness., Results: Children in the TSD group exhibited statistically significant heart rates and RMS-PS scores in intra-group comparisons. However, children in the ask-tell-ask group showed a significant reduction only in the RMS-PS scores (P < 0.001) but not in the measures used to assess heart rate (P < 0.001)., Conclusion: Tell-Show-Do was more effective than ask-tell-ask in alleviating dental anxiety in children. The simultaneous application of these two strategies can synergistically alleviate dental anxiety during a child's initial dentist appointment., Competing Interests: CONFLICT OF INTEREST: The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Journal of Dental Anesthesia and Pain Medicine.)