The effect of vibratory stimulus on pain perception during intraoral local anesthesia administration in children: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: To evaluate the effectiveness of vibration as a counter-stimulatory measure in reducing subjective pain due to local anesthesia administration in children. METHODS: Electronic databases (PubMed, Ovid SP, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials) were searched until April 2020. Studies were screened by titles and abstracts, followed by full text evaluation of the included studies. RESULTS: A total of seven studies involving 376 children aged 5-17 years were included in the systematic review and meta-analysis. The meta-analysis compared vibration as a counter-stimulatory measure with no vibration as a comparator. The primary outcome evaluated was pain perception or subjective pain reported by the child. The secondary outcome evaluated was objective pain evaluated in each study. The pooled mean difference favored vibration to be effective for the first outcome. CONCLUSION: Within the limits of this systematic review, low quality evidence suggests that vibration as a counter-stimulatory measure is effective in reducing the subjective pain reported by children during local anesthesia administration.