A comparison of perceived injection pain with and without anesthetic between elderly and young female subjects

Several reports have indicated that the perception toward pain declines with age. However, since pain thresholds have been reported to be lower in females than in males, studies to detect pain perception may be more sensitive in females. In dental care, the injection of local anesthetics with a needle is used to abrogate subsequent pain from treatment. However, the anomaly of using one potentially painful procedure to prevent subsequent pain often hinders patients from seeking dental care. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the perception of pain from needle-sticks with and without anesthetic between young and elderly female subjects. We compared the perception of pain stimulated by needle-sticks without (NS) and with (NS-I) 0.3 mL of local anesthetic injected into the oral mucosal tissues of a group of 20 young females (aged 19-24 yrs) and a group of 18 elderly females (aged 70-75 yrs). A Verbal Pain Scale (VPS; descriptors assigned, 0-4) and a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS; 0-10 cm) were used to measure pain intensity. Statistical analyses by ANOVA and Fisher's Exact Test were used where appropriate. The VPS and VAS scores for perception of pain in elderly females were lower than the scores from the younger subjects. No differences between Ns and Ns-I in either age group were found. Study limitations included potential periodic hormonal imbalances in both groups of females as well as untested diminished cognitive function in elderly subjects. However, we conclude, with the noted cautions, that pain perception between the two groups was not significantly different.