Comparative clinical evaluation of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulator over conventional local anesthesia in children seeking dental procedures: A clinical study

AIM: The aim of this study to evaluate the effectiveness of pain control by employing transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulator (TENS) over conventional injectable local anesthesia for children requiring restorative procedures under rubber dam. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study design considered was the split mouth design, in experiment (right) side, dental procedures under rubber dam was performed under TENS and in control (left) side, dental procedures under rubber dam was performed under conventional injectable local anesthetic (LA). The level of comfort and discomfort experienced during TENS and conventional LA was determined using visual analog scale (VAS) and heart rate. RESULT: Increase in mean heart rate associated with TENS (0.78%) was significantly less compared to increase in heart rate with administration of conventional local anesthesia (11.78%). In VAS, the mean values for pain indicate that minimum pain was felt with TENS, which was closely followed by LA. CONCLUSION: TENS can offer many safer and psychological advantages and is a valuable alternative to conventional LA for children.