A Comparison of Two Pain Scales in the Assessment of Dental Pain in East Delhi Children

Pain is the most common symptom of oral diseases. Pain perception in children is highly variable and unreliable due to poor communication. Therefore we designed a study to compare pain measurement techniques, that is, visual analogue scale (VAS) and Wong-Baker faces pain rating scale (WBFPS) among Delhi children aged 3 to 14 years undergoing dental extraction. Method. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 180 patients aged 3 to 14 years who had undergone dental extraction. Children were assessed for their pain sensitivity using visual analogue scale (VAS) and Wong-Baker faces pain rating scale (WBFPS ). Result and Conclusion. Pain threshold tends to decline, and the self-management of pain becomes more effective with increasing age. Genderwise result shows that communication ability of boys and girls is similar in all age groups. 1. Introduction Pain is referred to as the fifth vital sign and is an important reason for which patients seek health care [1].Scales to assess pain in children have been extensively studied [2]. But there are few pediatric studies to establish the validity of these tools in nonwestern cultures. Pain can be measured by self-report, biological markers, and behaviour because pain is subjective; self-report is the best if available [3]. Even though there are recommended guidelines for assessment of pain in children [4, 5], in India there is still limited data, on use of pain scale in children. It will be useful to know which pain assessment scale is more appropriate in Indian children. At the same time, there is need to evaluate how the health care professionals perceive the pain in children undergoing dental extraction. We have undertaken this study to compare the effectiveness of two pain scales in a dental setup both agewise as well as genderwise. 2. Aims and Objectives The aim of this study is to assess pain in 3–14-year-old children in a dental setup and also to compare pain measurement techniques, that is, visual analogue scale (VAS) and Wong-Baker faces pain rating scale (WBFPS). 3. Materials and Method 3.1. Study Population This was a cross-sectional study on 180 paediatric dental patients. The study was conducted in Department of Paedodontics and Preventive Dentistry, University College of Medical sciences & GTB Hospital (University of Delhi). Inclusion Criteria: Children aged 3 to 14 years of east Delhi were included in the study for perception of pain after obtaining informed consent from parents. Exclusion Criteria: Nonresidents of Delhi, physically disabled children, medically compromised children, and children who