Effectiveness of Thaumaturgic Distraction in Alleviation of Anxiety in 4–6-Year-Old Children During Inferior Alveolar Nerve Block Administration - A Randomized Controlled Trial

Aug 20, 2026

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Dental anxiety significantly challenges pediatric dental care and can worsen access to quality treatment while increasing the risk of adverse experiences in children. This randomized controlled trial assessed whether thaumaturgic distraction—using magic tricks during inferior alveolar nerve block administration—reduces anxiety in 4–6-year-old children. Thirty children requiring IANB were assigned to a thaumaturgic aid group or a conventional non-pharmacological group, with anxiety measured pre- and post-intervention using validated rating scales and pulse rate. Results showed significantly lower anxiety in the thaumaturgy group, supporting magic-based distraction as an effective behavior guidance tool in pediatric dentistry.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages9

Reading Time23 min

AccessFree to download

Background

Rationale for anxiety reduction during IANB

Methods

Participants and randomization

Outcome measures

Results

Anxiety comparison between groups

Conclusion

Implications for behavior guidance in pediatric dentistry

Effectiveness ofthaumaturgic distraction in alleviation of anxiety in 4–6-year-old children during inferior alveolar nerve block administration: a randomized controlled trial Payal Kothari, Aditi Mathur, Rashmi Singh Chauhan, Meenakshi Nankar, Sunnypriyatham Tirupathi, Ashrita Suvarna Department of Pediatric and Preventive Dentistry, Dr. D.Y. Patil Dental College and Hospital, Dr. D.Y. Patil Vidyapeeth, Pimpri, Pune, Maharasthra, India Background: Dental anxiety is a matter of serious concern to pediatric dentists as it may impede the efficient delivery of dental care. If not adequately resolved, a persistent negative response pattern may emerge. Thaumaturgy, commonly known as magic trick, has become popular recently. It is a tool that distracts and relaxes the child by using magic trick while the dentist performs necessary treatment. Hence, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of Thaumaturgic aid in alleviation of anxiety in 4–6 – year-old children during administration of local anesthesia using the inferior alveolar nerve block (IANB) technique. Methods: Thirty children aged between 4–6 years with dental anxiety requiring IANB were included in this study. Patients were divided equally into two groups: Group I, thaumaturgic aid group and Group II, conventional non-pharmacological group using randomization. Anxiety was measured before and after using the intervention with Raghavendra Madhuri Sujata-Pictorial scale (RMS-PS), Venham’s anxiety rating scale, and pulse rate. All the data were tabulated and compared using statistical analysis. Results: Children in thaumaturgy group (Group- I) exhibited significantly lower anxiety during IANB in comparison with children in the conventional group (Group- II) and the difference was statistically significant. Conclusion: Magic tricks are effective in reducing anxiety among young children during IANB; Moreover, it expands the arsenal of behavior guidance techniques for treatment of children with anxiety and plays an important role in shaping the behavior of a child in pediatric dentistry. Keywords: Children; Distraction; Inferior Alveolar Nerve; Magic Tricks; Nerve Block; Pain. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License ([http://creativecommons.org/l](http://creativecommons.org/l)icenses/by-nc/4 .0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. INTRODUCTION A child's co-operation and positive behavior is one of the key factors for improving long term success of any dental treatment. Child’s disruptive behavior resulting from dental anxiety and fear negatively restricts the child’s access to quality dental care and can also increase risk of iatrogenic injury. Studies suggests that the prevalence of dental anxiety among children ranges from 23.9% – 52% and it is more prevalent in preschool (36.5%) and school children (25.8%) than in adolescents (13.3%) [1,2] . Dental anxiety not only affects the behavior of the child in the dental setting but also the Received: January 19, 2023 •Revised: March 21, 2023 •Accepted: April 18, 2023 Corresponding Author: Aditi Mathur, Professor, Department of Pediatric and Preventive Dentistry, Dr. D.Y. Patil Dental College and Hospital, Dr. D.Y. Patil Vidyapeeth, Pimpri, Pune 410018, Maharashtra, India E-mail: [aditi.mathur@dpu.edu.in](aditi.mathur@dpu.edu.in) Copyrightⓒ 2023 Journal of Dental Anesthesia and Pain Medicine [http://www.jdapm.org](http://www.jdapm.org 143)[ 143](http://www.jdapm.org 143) oral health related quality of life [3]. According to various studies, children with dental anxiety are more affected by dental caries than the other children [3-5] . Dental anxiety affects the oral health of the child [6] . Anxiety also affects the pain perception. Fear of pain is a specific anxiety that the child patient frequently displays. A

FAQs

What study question did the trial address?

Whether thaumaturgic distraction (magic tricks) reduces anxiety in 4–6-year-old children during inferior alveolar nerve block administration.

How were children assigned to the groups?

Thirty 4–6-year-old children were equally divided into two groups: a thaumaturgic aid group and a conventional non-pharmacological group using randomization.

What were the main findings and how were anxiety outcomes measured?

Children in the thaumaturgy group showed significantly lower anxiety during IANB compared with the conventional group. Anxiety was assessed before and after intervention using the Raghavendra Madhuri Sujata-Pictorial scale and Venham’s anxiety rating scale, along with pulse rate.

Aug 20, 2026

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