PaFein+ Project: a Holistic Approach to Minimally Invasive Dentistry

Objectives: The PaFein+ Project (2023-1-TR01-KA220-HED-000155608) aims to enhance pediatric dentists' competence in providing pain-free dental treatments for children. It focuses on improving the proficiency of pediatric dental postgraduate students through holistic seminars and workshops on behavior guidance, minimally invasive dentistry (MID), and Pain-free injection techniques. This study evaluates preliminary findings on the impact of the PaFein+ Seminar and Workshop on postgraduate students using pre- and post-training surveys.
Methods: A full-day PaFein+ Seminar and workshop was organized, covering behavior guidance, MID, and pain-free injection topics. A total of 37 postgraduate students completed surveys assessing their knowledge and attitudes on these topics before and after the activity. Data were analyzed using Wilcoxon Signed-Rank tests for comparisons and Spearman’s correlation to assess relationships.
Results: Knowledge and attitude items in pre- and post-training surveys revealed significant improvements in MID (W=70, z=3.778, p<0.01) and pain-free injection (W=17.5, z=4.626, p<0.01) topics.

Before training, self-efficacy correlations between behavior guidance and MID showed weaker relationships with pain-free dental treatment. Self-efficacy in pain-free injections exhibited the strongest correlation with pain-free dental treatment (Table 1).

After training, self-efficacy correlations between pain-free dental treatment and behavior guidance, MID, and pain-free injections significantly increased (Table 1).
Conclusions: The PaFein+ seminar and workshop had a significant impact on enhancing participants’ knowledge and attitudes toward pain-free dental treatments. The present study suggests that the true potential of MID is maximized when integrated with anxiety and pain management. PaFein+'s holistic approach to MID, incorporating behavior guidance and pain-free injection techniques, may facilitate its evolution into a comprehensive dental care model that prioritizes both human well-being and the preservation of hard and soft tissues. Future research should investigate the clinical application of the PaFein+ approach for pediatric dental patients.