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NCT Number: NCT06691269

Photobiomodulation and Tooth Analgesia

The purpose of this study is to test photobiomodulation (PBM) with a non-invasive light device for reducing discomfort during dental treatments in children. We plan to conduct a series of three clinical studies in 200 school-aged children requiring routine dental treatment. The first study aims to test if PBM works for tooth and soft tissue by assessing response to cold testing and probing of gums. The second study aims to test if use of PBM on soft tissues before injection reduces discomfort. The third study aims to test if PBM can be used to do simple dental fillings in baby teeth without numbing injection.

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Key information

Conditions

Dental Anaesthesia Dental Analgesia Dental Pain Facial Pain Neurologic Manifestations Pain Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms Signs and Symptoms Stomatognathic Diseases Tooth Diseases Toothache

Age range

6 year–12 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

University of Maryland School of Dentistry, Pediatric Clinics

Baltimore, Maryland, 21201, United States

Location status: Recruiting

Location contact

Kuei Ling Hsu, DDS, MS

CONTACT

[email protected]

Vineet Dhar, BDS, MDS, PhD

CONTACT

[email protected]

4107067970

About this study

Dental anxiety and fear of pain during procedures are major barriers to oral health care, especially among children. Traditional local anesthesia injections can be distressing for pediatric patients. The fear of needle and dental pain are perhaps among the top reasons for avoidance of dental care. Photomodulation (PBM) is a promising non-tissue penetrating (i.e. minimally invasive) approach for achieving tooth and soft tissue anesthesia/analgesia in dental patients.Investigators plan to use an intra-oral PBM device with a tip comprising of a series of photonic emitters with specific wavelengths that can go through the tooth structure and bone, blocking the nerve conduction like local anesthetics. Research has shown that one burst of light application (for about 20 second) can provide up to 15-20 minutes of pain relief. This could significantly reduce dental anxiety and facilitate access to care and the implications of such an alternative to needles will be a gamechanger especially in pediatric dentistry. The proposed randomzied clinical trials will evaluate if photobiomodulation (PBM) with the near-infrared device produces dental analgesia comparable to local anesthetic injection in pediatric patients. This will be a series of three prospective, clinical studies in 200 school-aged children aged 6-12 years requiring routine dental procedures. The first trial will test the effectiveness of PBM in tooth and soft tissue analgesia by assessing response to diagnostic approaches such as cold pulp testing and gingival probing. The second trial will assess the pre-emptive analgesic effect of PBM on soft tissues at the site of injection prior to local anesthesia infiltration to reduce the discomfort of injection, and the third trial will assess effectiveness of PBM in providing tooth analgesia (compared to routinely used topical anesthesia/local infiltration) for simple restorative procedures in primary teeth.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Healthy children, aged 6-12 years, requiring routine dental treatment

Exclusion criteria

  • Children with uncooperative behavior or signficant medical history

Treatment and study plan

Photobiomodulation

Device

Photomodulation (PBM) is a promising non-tissue penetrating (i.e. minimally invasive) approach for achieving tooth and soft tissue anesthesia/analgesia in dental patients. A patent pending near-infrared laser technology that aims to provide dental analgesia will be used for PBM. This intra-oral PBM device comes with a tip comprising of a series of photonic emitters with specific wavelengths that can go through the tooth structure and bone, blocking the nerve conduction like local anesthetics. Research has shown that one burst of light application (for about 20 second) can provide up to 15-20 minutes of pain relief. Based on existing research PBM does not present a serious risk to health, safety, or welfare of a subject.

Other names: Low-level light therapy, near-infrared light

Topical Benzocaine

Drug

Topical Benzocaine at injection site to reduce discomfort of local infiltration

Local anesthesia

Drug

Local infiltration using local anesthetics with epinephrine

Primary outcomes

  1. Study 1- Response to Cold Pulp (Pulp sensibility) testing

    Time frame: during the intervention (application of cold stimuli)

    Name of measurement: Response to cold pulp testing. Measurement tool: Child's acknowledgement of cold sensation. A small amount of cold spray (Endo Ice/Ethyl Chloride) will be sprayed onto a cotton pellet, and gently place the cotton pellet on the middle third of the buccal surface of the tooth for a few seconds or until the child indicates a sensation. Child will be asked to raise their hand when they feel a cold sensation.

    Unit of measurement: Response will be noted (Yes/No), if the cold sensation is felt by the child on application of cold stimulus. Difference in cold pulp testing between PBM and no PBM group.

  2. Study 1- Anxiety related to routine gingival probing

    Time frame: pre-procedure (baseline) and immediately after the procedure

    Name of the measurement: Assessment of anxiety Measurement tool: Visual analogue scale (VAS)- a 100-mm horizontal line with two extremes "not anxious" (left) to "very anxious" (right).

    Measurement unit: rating scale

  3. Study 1- Pain (physician documented) related to routine gingival probing

    Time frame: pre-procedure (baseline), during procedure, and immediately after procedure

    Name of the measurement: Heart rate Measurement tool: Pulse oximetry. Unit of measurement: Heart rate per minute

  4. Study 1- Self-reported Pain related to routine gingival probing

    Time frame: pre-procedure (baseline) and immediately after procedure

    Name of the measurement: Pain/discomfort Measurement tool: Self-reported Wong Baker faces Scale (six-point scale from score 0 (no hurt) to score 10 (hurts worst).

    Unit of measurement: Rating Scale

  5. Study 2- Anxiety related to local anesthesia injection (local infiltration)

    Time frame: pre-procedure (baseline) and immediately after the procedure

    Name of the measurement: Assessment of procedural anxiety Measurement tool: Visual analogue scale (VAS)- a 100-mm horizontal line with two extremes "not anxious" (left) to "very anxious" (right).

    Measurement unit: rating scale

  6. Study 2- Pain (physician documented) related to local anesthesia injection (local infiltration)

    Time frame: pre-procedure (baseline), during procedure, and immediately after procedure

    Name of the measurement: Heart rate Measurement tool: Pulse oximetry. Unit of measurement: Heart rate per minute

  7. Study 2- Self-reported Pain related to local anesthesia injection (local infiltration)

    Time frame: pre-procedure (baseline) and immediately after procedure

    Name of the measurement: Pain/discomfort Measurement tool: Self-reported Wong Baker faces Scale (six-point scale from score 0 (no hurt) to score 10 (hurts worst).

    Unit of measurement: Rating Scale

  8. Study 2- Cooperative behavior related to local anesthesia injection (local infiltration)

    Time frame: pre-procedure (baseline), during, and immediately after procedure

    Name of the measurement: Cooperative behavior Measurement tool: Frankel's Behavior rating scale (definitely negative, negative, positive, definitely positive) Unit of measurement: Rating Scale

  9. Study 3- Anxiety during restorative procedure

    Time frame: pre-procedure (baseline) and immediately after the procedure

    Name of the measurement: Assessment of procedural anxiety Measurement tool: Visual analogue scale (VAS)- a 100-mm horizontal line with two extremes "not anxious" (left) to "very anxious" (right).

    Measurement unit: rating scale

  10. Study 3- Pain (physician documented) during restorative procedure

    Time frame: pre-procedure (baseline), during procedure, and immediately after procedure

    Name of the measurement: Heart rate Measurement tool: Pulse oximetry. Unit of measurement: Heart rate per minute

  11. Study 3- Self-reported Pain during restorative procedure

    Time frame: pre-procedure (baseline) and immediately after procedure

    Name of the measurement: Pain/discomfort Measurement tool: Self-reported Wong Baker faces Scale (six-point scale from score 0 (no hurt) to score 10 (hurts worst).

    Unit of measurement: Rating Scale

  12. Study 3- Cooperative behavior during restorative procedure

    Time frame: pre-procedure (baseline), during, and immediately after procedure

    Name of the measurement: Cooperative behavior Measurement tool: Frankel's Behavior rating scale (definitely negative, negative, positive, definitely positive) Unit of measurement: Rating Scale

Secondary outcomes

  1. Study 1- Duration of tooth analgesia in PBM group

    Time frame: baseline and immediately after response is felt

    Name of measurement: Duration or time taken for response to cold pulp testing. Measurement tool: Child's acknowledgement of cold sensation. A small amount of cold spray (Endo Ice/Ethyl Chloride) will be sprayed onto a cotton pellet, and gently place the cotton pellet on the middle third of the buccal surface of the tooth for a few seconds or until the child indicates a sensation. Child will be asked to raise their hand when they feel a cold sensation.

    Unit of measurement: Time (measured in seconds) taken for response in PBM group and no PBM groups.

  2. Study 1- Duration of soft tissue analgesia

    Time frame: baseline, immediately after response is felt

    Name of measurement: Duration of analgesia or time taken for patient to respond to gingival probing Measurement tool: Yes/No to discomfort experienced during gingival probing Unit of measurement: Time in seconds

Study contacts

Contact information is provided by the study sponsor or research team.

Kue-Ling Hsu, DDS, MS

CONTACT

[email protected]

410-706-7970

Vineet Dhar, BDS, MDS, PhD

CONTACT

[email protected]

410-706-7970

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

University of Maryland, Baltimore

Other

Registry information

Official study title

Evaluation of a Photobiomodulation Device for Dental Analgesia in Pediatric Patients

Important dates

Study start
2025
Primary completion
2026
Study completion
2027
First posted
Nov 15, 2024
Registry last updated
Jul 25, 2025

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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