Efficacy of administering a sugar‐free flavor before dental injections on pain perception in children: A split‐mouth randomized crossover clinical trial

Background Sweet taste administration before dental injections helps to control associated pain in children. Aim To evaluate the efficacy of using a sugar‐free flavor on pain perception during dental injections. Design Children (n = 84) aged 4–9 (mean 6.71 ± 1.55) years who required buccal infiltration bilaterally participated in this split‐mouth randomized crossover study. On the test side (flavor visit), infiltration injections were applied after receiving a sugar‐free flavor. On the control side (no flavor visit), sterile water was administered. Demographic characteristics, body mass index (BMI), and sweet taste preference (STP) were recorded. Pain perception during injection was measured using heart rate (HR), sound, eyes, and motor (SEM) scale, and Wong–Baker Faces pain scale (WBFPS). Results Most children had healthy weight (72.6%) and equal STP (32.1%). In the test side, mean HR during injection, HR differences before and during injection, and SEM scores were significantly lower (p