Effectiveness of Animal-Assisted Activity on Pain Perception and Anxiety of Children Undergoing Intraoral Local Anesthetic Administration.

To investigate the impact of animal-assisted activity (AAA) involving a dog (play therapy) on reducing the pain experienced by children during the administration of local anesthetic (LA). Children between the ages of eight and 12 years who required LA administration were randomized into an AAA group and a control group. Baseline data for the simplified Modified Child Dental Anxiety Scale-Faces version (MCDAS[f]) was recorded, followed by the implementation of either AAA with standard care or standard care alone.