Evaluation of students' performance in obtaining local anaesthesia in children

This study was designed to determine the success of various local anaesthesia techniques as assessed by the presence or absence of pain during restorative procedures performed by senior undergraduate dental students in a pedodontic clinic. Data gathered from the treatment of 151 patients by 43 students recorded the frequency of pain complaints during procedures for which local anaesthesia had been employed. It was found that 73% of the administrations were successful. The proportion of children who complained of pain during the operative procedure was significantly higher in those with a previous history of a painful dental experience.