Acupressure and Hand Massage for Reducing Anxiety During Dental Local Anesthetic Injections in Children

NCT07779837 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: A04011024PP
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 135
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This study aims to compare the effects of acupressure ,hand massage , and routine behavioral management on anxiety in children undergoing dental local anesthetic injections . Anxiety will be evaluated using Venham Picture Test ( VPT ) and heart rate measurements at specified time points before , during and after the injection procedure .

Conditions

Dental Anxiety; Fear

Keywords

dental anxiety; acupressure; hand massage; local anesthetic injection; children; venham picture test; heart rate

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Change in Anxiety Levels Assessed Using the Venham Picture Test ( VPT )

  Anxiety levels were assessed using the Venham Picture Test ( VPT ) , an six-item pictorial scale with scores ranging from 0 to 8 . Higher scores indicate greater anxiety .

  5 minutes before injection , immediately after injection , and 2 minutes after injection .

Secondary Outcomes (1)

• Change in Heart Rate During Dental Anesthetic Injections

  5 minutes before injection , immediately after injection , and 2 minutes after injection

Study Arms (3)

control group

NO INTERVENTION

Children in this group received routine behavioral guidance using the tell-show-do technique before dental anesthetic injection without additional interventions .

acupressure group

EXPERIMENTAL

Children in this group received acupressure before dental anesthetic injections in addition to routine tell-show-do behavioral guidance .

Behavioral: acupressure

Hand massage Group

EXPERIMENTAL

Children in this group received hand massage before dental anesthetic injection in addition to routine tell-show-do behavioral guidance .

Behavioral: hand massage

Interventions

acupressure BEHAVIORAL

Acupressure was applied before dental anesthetic injection to reduce anxiety in children in addition to routine tell-show-do behavioral guidance .

acupressure group

hand massage BEHAVIORAL

Hand massage was performed before dental anesthetic injection to reduce anxiety in children in addition to routine tell-show-do behavioral guidance .

Hand massage Group

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 4 Years - 8 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Child (0-17)

You may qualify if:

• healthy child 4 years - 8 years No previous dental experience the treatment requires injections

You may not qualify if:

• Has previous dental experience any medical disease skin disease of hands or ears

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Mansoura University: lead

Study Sites (1)

Faculty of Pediatric Dentistry

Al Mansurah, Egypt

Location

MeSH Terms

Interventions

Acupressure

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Therapy, Soft Tissue; Musculoskeletal Manipulations; Complementary Therapies; Therapeutics; Physical Therapy Modalities; Rehabilitation

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: SUPPORTIVE CARE
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: May 31, 2026
• First Posted: August 21, 2026
• Study Start: November 27, 2024
• Primary Completion: December 1, 2025
• Study Completion: December 27, 2025
• Last Updated: August 21, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-08

Locations

EG (1)