Childrens' Experiences of Pain in Conjunction With Tooth Extraction - a Grounded Theory Study

NCT ID: NCT04064853

Last Updated: 2023-03-15

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Total Enrollment: 12 participants
• Study Classification: OBSERVATIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2019-04-05
• Study Completion Date: 2022-03-01

Brief Summary

This is a qualitative study, using Grounded Theory. The aim is to deepen our knowledge about how children perceive pain in conjunction with dental treatment; tooth extractions in particular. What increases, and what decreases, the risk of children experiencing pain; and how do they perceive dental treatments where pain might occur, either as procedural pain, or postoperatively?

Detailed Description

BACKGROUND: Pain in conjunction with dental treatment should be avoided as much as possible, when treating children. Many dental procedures may result in procedural and/or postoperative pain. There is a well-documented relationship between perceived pain during/after dental treatment, and the development of dental fear and anxiety. This may lead to suffering for the patient and accelerating treatment-costs for society. Despite this, research on children and pain is scarce. Systematic review shows a lack of studies on oral analgesics and their possibility to reduce/prevent pain. There is a need for randomized clinical trials regarding different treatments and effect of analgesics. However, before such research can be undertaken, one important piece is missing; an understanding on how children and adolescents perceive dental treatment and the possible pain afterwards. The aim of this study is to elucidate how children perceive dental treatment and pain after tooth extractions.

METHODS: This is a qualitative study using Grounded Theory (GT). Children aged 10-15 years, who needs teeth extracted prior orthodontic treatment, will be consecutively enrolled if the legal guardians signs the informed consent-form and the child assents to participate. Tooth extractions will then be performed by another dentist than the one doing the interviews with the children. A treatment protocol, in accordance with today standardized practice, for the extractions will be followed. No extra dental treatment is performed, rather this is a part of the whole treatment plan for orthodontic treatment. In-depth interview will be performed with the children 1-2 weeks after tooth extraction, at a place convenient for the child/family. If the participant wishes to, they can be accompanied by their legal guardian during the interview. The questions will focus on their experiences of the tooth extraction, perceived pain, pain management, coping strategies, and previous experiences of pain and how they handled it then. Each interview is calculated to take approximately one hour. In Grounded Theory no sample size calculation is applicable. Participants will be included until saturation in data is reached, i.e. no new information can be obtained. In GT this is often achieved after 10-15 interviews, but when it involves children it is not unlikely that the number of participants will be closer to 20, since there is a risk of the interviews not being so "rich". All interviews will be tape recorded, and without further delay, the interviews will be transcribed. Data analyses and data collection will be done parallel with each other. The transcribed interviews will be analyzed, where codes will be identified. These codes will then merge into different preliminary categories. In the following axial coding process, each category will be further developed by identifying dimensions and characteristics (sub-categories). Relations between data and categories is sought for, and hereby a new whole is created. Selective coding will lead to data saturation and validation. Saturation can also be achieved by already retrieved data being re-coded.

KNOWLEDGE GAINS: GT is a theory generating method. This is especially suitable for research areas where theories are scarce or completely lacking. A lot of research within the medical and dental field today, takes the perspective of the investigator, and far too seldom is those directly affected (i.e. the patient), involved. From an ethical point of view, it is important to include children and adolescents if the research is targeting this group. If knowledge about how children and adolescents perceive pain is gained, this will be an important piece in assembling the puzzle of research strategies related to pain.

Conditions

Attitude; Pain, Postoperative; Pain, Procedural; Child; Adolescent; Tooth Extraction

Study Design

• Observational Model Type: COHORT
• Study Time Perspective: CROSS_SECTIONAL

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Healthy individuals
• In need of extraction of permanent premolars prior orthodontic treatment

Exclusion Criteria

• If sedation is needed to be able to comply with dental treatment
• Do not understand Swedish language

• Minimum Eligible Age: 10 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 15 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

Malmö University

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Henrik Berlin

DDS, senior lecturer

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

Henrik Berlin, DDS

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Malmö University, Faculty of Odontology

Locations

Faculty of Odontology, Malmö University

Malmo, Skåne County, Sweden

Countries

Sweden

References

Berlin H, List T, Ridell K, Davidson T, Toft D, Klingberg G. Postoperative pain profile in 10-15-year-olds after bilateral extraction of maxillary premolars. Eur Arch Paediatr Dent. 2019 Dec;20(6):545-555. doi: 10.1007/s40368-019-00425-9. Epub 2019 Apr 8.

Reference Type: BACKGROUND

PMID: 30963511 (View on PubMed)

Berlin H, List T, Ridell K, Klingberg G. Dentists' attitudes towards acute pharmacological pain management in children and adolescents. Int J Paediatr Dent. 2018 Mar;28(2):152-160. doi: 10.1111/ipd.12316. Epub 2017 Jul 10.

Reference Type: BACKGROUND

PMID: 28691744 (View on PubMed)

Charmaz K. Grounded theory. In: Smith JA, Harre R, van Langenhove L, eds. Rethinking methods in psychology, 2nd ed. London: Sage Publications, 1995; 27-49.

Reference Type: BACKGROUND

Charmaz K. Grounded theory. Objectivist and constructivist methods. In: Denzin NK, Lincoln YS, eds. Handbook of qualitative research, 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2000; 509-535.

Reference Type: BACKGROUND

Dellve L, Henning Abrahamsson K, Trulsson U, Hallberg LR-M. Grounded theory in public health research. In: Hallberg LR-M, ed. Qualitative methods in public health research: theoretical foundations and practical examples. Lund: Studentlitteratur, 2002; 137-173.

Reference Type: BACKGROUND

Glaser B, Strauss A. The discovery of grounded theory: strategies for qualitative research. New York: Aldine de Gruyter, 1967.

Reference Type: BACKGROUND

Ashley PF, Parekh S, Moles DR, Anand P, MacDonald LC. Preoperative analgesics for additional pain relief in children and adolescents having dental treatment. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2016 Aug 8;2016(8):CD008392. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD008392.pub3.

Reference Type: BACKGROUND

PMID: 27501304 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

GT dental pain Malmo U

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id