A clinical comparison of pain perception to the Wand and a traditional syringe

Objectives. This study compared the pain response of a group of 40 voluntee rs to the Wand with the response to syringe injections. Study design. Of 240 total injections given, 120 were with the Wand system, and 120 were with the traditional aspirating syringe. Three injections wer e evaluated: injections to the middle superior alveolar (MSA) of the maxill ary right first premolar and the maxillary left first premolar; palatal inj ections of the maxillary right first premolar and the maxillary left first premolar; and inferior alveolar nerve injection (IAN) of both the right and the left sides. Each volunteer received 6 injections, 3 on one side with t he Wand and 3 on the opposite side with the syringe (control). All injectio ns were given by the primary investigator without the use of a topical anes thetic. Pain perception levels were recorded with a 4-point visual analog s cale: no pain, mild pain, moderate pain, and severe pain. The results were evaluated statistically by using an unpaired t test. Results. The results showed injections with the syringe were statistically more painful than injections with the Wand in 4 of 18 evaluations: MSA of t he maxillary left first premolar, female volunteers responses to MSA of the maxillary left first premolar, IAN left side injections, and male response s to IAN left injections (P = .01, P = .05, P = .05 and P = .05, respective ly). Conclusions. The Wand generally seemed to provide less painful injections; however, the mean ratings of pain were mostly mild pain for both injections . Therefore, the clinical significance of the results should be interpreted with caution. The operator technique and tactile skill in syringe injectio ns and site of injection (right or left) could be important factors that we re not evaluated in this study.