ABSTRACT

Background: Dental pain and anxiety is challenging problem during procedures. Breathing pattern has strong correlation with pain perception. Nasal breather patients have less pain perception than oral breather.

Aim: To assess the role of breathing pattern and its impact on pain perception during painful dental procedures like dental local anaesthesia injections.

Methods: 300 patients were randomly selected from dental departments of Islam dental college during 1st Jan 2020 till 31 Dec 2020 period. Verbal pain intensity scale was used among oral and nasal breather cases. Data was collected in proforma. Results were analysed statistically by SPSS version 23.

Results: Among 300 cases, 150 cases had mild pain, 89 cases had moderate pain and 61 cases had severe pain. Among 150 mild pain cases, 120 mild pain cases were nasal breather while89 oral breather cases had moderate pain and 61 oral breather cases had severe pain. Nasal breather patient had mild pain perception than oral breather.

Conclusions: Nasal breather has mild pain perception during dental anaesthesia than oral breather. Education and training of patient to practice nasal breathing can be recommended for oral breathers to become nasal breather preoperatively, this will help to reduce anxiety and pain perception during dental local anaesthesia injections.

Keyword: Oral and nasal breather, pain perception, local anaesthesia