TO EVALUATE AND COMPARE THE EFFICACY OF ACUPRESSURE, AUDIO-VISUAL AIDS AND CONVENTIONAL TELL SHOW DO TECHNIQUES IN REDUCING ANXIETY IN CHILDREN-A RANDOMIZED CROSS-SECTIONAL CLINICAL TRIAL

Purpose - Management of anxious children is one of the most daunting and frequently faced challenges by paediatric dentists.The purpose of this study is to establish a significant anxiolytic technique to be utilized in day-to-day clinical practise.Aim -To evaluate and compare the efficacy of acupressure therapy,audiovisual aids and conventional tell show do technique in reducing the anxiety in children during the administration of local anaesthesia. Methodology – 86 apparently healthy children between the age group of 7 to 11 years visiting the Department of Paediatric and Preventive Dentistry, Darshan Dental College and Hospital, Udaipur were selected based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. They were divided into four groups with 26 children in each group.The following techniques were used for the reduction of anxiety during the administration of local anaesthesia – Group 1-Conventional Tell Show Do Technique, Group 2-Acupressure therapy that is bilateral pressure on He Gu (L14) point which is the highest point located on the dorsal surface above the abductor pollicis muscle during abduction of thumb and index finger, Group 3-Audio Visual Aids, Group 4- (Control group) No techniques will be used for the reduction in anxiety. The level of anxiety was assessed at three different time intervals that is before,during and after the treatment procedure by a Pulse Oximeter and Raghvendra M Shetty pictorial scale (RMS-PS 2015). Data was subjected to statistical analysis in SPSS version 21 software. Results- Acupressure was established as the most effective method in reducing anxiety, followed by AV aids and acupressure in children. Conclusion - Acupressure may act as a convenient choice for children undertaking dental treatment to alleviate dental anxiety.