Do active ingredients in a topical anaesthetic reduce patient anxiety?
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Does the active ingredient in a topical anaesthetic reduce patient anxiety after dental injections?\n\nA Psychological Perspective on the Effectiveness of Topical Anaesthetics vs Placebo for Dental Injections by Buccal Infiltration\n
IRAS ID
147371
Contact name
Paul Batchelor
Contact email
Research summary
Topical anaesthetics are widely used by dentists to minimise discomfort associated with injection of local anaesthetics. However some studies indicate that the perception of pain can be affected by psychological factors as well as pharmacological ones. Little research has been done to investigate how the perceived effectiveness of topical anaesthetics and placebo are related to the preoperative psychological status of a patient. Therefore one of the key purposes of the study is to determine whether the use of a topical anaesthetic gel has a more beneficial effect on reducing patients’ anxiety and perceived discomfort from a dental injection than a placebo gel. The secondary aim is to investigate whether the level of preoperative anxiety, anticipated level of discomfort, previous dental experience or gender have an effect on the perceived effectiveness of placebo and the surface anaesthetic gel. The study will involve new and existing patients at the Lavender Close Dental Practice. Just before their dental injection, all participants will receive a pre operative questionnaire to determine their pre operative anxiety, anticipated level of discomfort from a dental injection, previous dental experience and gender. Participants will be randomly allocated to either a Treatment to Placebo group. A blinded dental practitioner will apply a topical anaesthetic (5% lidocaine gel) to Treatment group before delivering dental injection, while Placebo group will receive placebo gel (pure Orobase paste). Immediately after the injection, the participants will be invited to complete a postoperative questionnaire to assess their post operative anxiety, perceived level of discomfort and perceived effectiveness of a topical anaesthetic or placebo. Key data will be collected using continuous 100-mm horizontal visual analog scales (VAS) and then entered into SPSS for statistical analysis. The findings will allow to assess whether pre-treatment anxiety and other factors can be used to determine patients’ susceptibility to the placebo effect and whether psychological techniques rather than active drugs could provide equally effective control of discomfort during dental injections in some groups of patients \n
REC name
West Midlands - South Birmingham Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
14/WM/0061
Date of REC Opinion
27 Feb 2014
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion