Comparative evaluation of Tell play do with smart phone digital dentist game and Stress ball in reducing anxiety in children aged 6-10 years: a randomized controlled trial

A randomized controlled trial will be carried out on 180 children aged 6-10 years who will be reporting to the Department of Pediatric and Preventive dentistry, College of Dental Sciences, Amargadh, Bhavnagar, Gujarat  indicated for the treatment of class I restoration.Written informed consent will be taken before conducting the study.

A total of 180 children will be taken for the study which will be divided in to 3 different groups.

60 children will be allocated to each group which will be divided in to:

 Group A (control group):Tell  show do technique

 Group B (experimental group 1) : Tell play do with smart phone digital dentist game

 Group C (experimental group 2): Stress ball

 Group A (control group):Tell  show do technique will be used to reduce dental anxiety level.In this group, verbal explanation of the treatment procedure will be given to the child; the child will be explained exactly what is going to be done. After the explanation, demonstration of the visual, auditory, and tactile aspects of the procedure will be given to the child. The child will be shown all the instruments and materials required for the treatment, and the child will be made aware of the airotor noise. The child will also be shown how the airotor, three-way syringe, and suction work. Afterward, the child will be taken for the treatment, and the restorative procedure will be performed.

 Group B (experimental group 1) : Tell play do with smart phone digital dentist game will be used. In this technique, children will play a dentist game on a smartphone (Baby Panda Dental Care game) to learn about dental tools in a fun way for 5-10 minutes before starting the procedure. I will explain to the child everything that is shown in the game and  participate in the activity by playing the game with the child to educate them about the dental treatment procedures, such as restorations, that will be performed on them. After that, the procedure will be started. This game’s ability to combine education with entertainment, along with its proven popularity and positive feedback from parents, makes it the most suitable choice for my study. Its rating is also better compared to other dentist games on the Play Store.

Group C (experimental group 2): Stress ball will be used.In this technique we will have 3 sizes (small,medium,large) of squeeze ball which will be shown to the children so they can choose one according to their comfort and before conducting the procedure children will be instructed to squeeze the ball for 5-10 minutes and after that procedure will be started.

Samples in each group will be treated in a single appointment after using either of the behaviour modification techniques.Class I cavities will be prepared on carious primary molar and will be restored using Glass ionomer cement.

This study is designed as a single blind (participants), randomized controlled trial with two parallel groups.  Samples will be randomly allocated to the study groups by simple randomization by lottery method for equal distribution of sample size in study group.

 In this study Anxiety of the subject will be assesed before,during (immediately after cavity preparation) and after the treatment objectively by pulse rate with the help of pulse oximeter (by DR VAKU) and subjectively by chotta bheem chutki scale in all the three groups.

CBC scale is a newly designed scale. This scale comprises two separate cards; one for boys and the other for girls.For boys, the Chotta Bheem cartoon character will be chosen to depict various emotions, and for girls, the Chutki cartoon character will be chosen to depict various emotions. Each card will consist of a series of six figures, ranging from happy to unhappy, with the cartoon character displaying different emotions. Children will be asked to choose the face they identify with at that moment. To record on the scale, a score of one will be assigned to the happy face, and six will be assigned to running.