An Update on the PaFein+ Project: Bringing Pain-Free Dentistry to Dental Schools

From successful pilot training to wider implementation in European dental education

PaFein+ “Pain-Free Dentistry for Children”  Project is an Erasmus+ Cooperation Partnership in Higher Education bringing together universities and professional organisations from Türkiye, Romania and Italy.

The project aims to develop a holistic educational approach to a less addressed, however crucially important issue in paediatric dentistry: providing dental care that minimises anxiety and pain while preserving tooth structure and promoting positive dental experiences from childhood. The PaFein+ curriculum integrates three complementary topics, each targeting a core challenge in pediatric dentistry: modern Behaviour Guidance for dental anxiety, Minimally Intervention Dentistry (MID) for caries, and Pain-Free Dental Injection Techniques for pain management. The programme combines evidence-based teaching with interactive lectures, role-play activities, animation and demonstration videos, hands-on MID applications and injection simulations. The educational model is intended for integration into undergraduate and postgraduate dental education as well as continuing professional development.

From curriculum development to practice

The PaFein+ Project’s educational model has already been piloted through seminars and hands-on workshops in Istanbul Kent University, Carol Davila University in Bucharest and Bambino Gesu Children Hospital in Rome, providing the opportunity to evaluate the programme across different educational and clinical environments.

To date, 181 participants, including paediatric dentistry specialty and PhD students, paediatric dentistry specialists, and educators from Türkiye, Romania, and Italy, have participated in PaFein+ training activities. Longitudinal evaluation among participants completing the six-month follow-up (n=46) showed significant improvements in self-reported knowledge across Behaviour Guidance, MID and pain-free inj. techniques.

Participants also reported improvements in self-reported self-efficacy in applying MID and providing pain-free injections, together with an increased self-efficacy to provide pain-free dental care for   anxious children. In addition, the proportion of participants reporting no weekly sedation/GA referrals doubled from 15.2% to 30.4% at 6 months, with the overall reduction in referrals reaching statistical significance.

An unexpected additional finding broadened the potential perspective of the project: among participants who also treated adult patients, 92% reported that the PaFein+ training improved their ability to provide pain-free dental care for adults (n=51).

The next step: Collaboration with Dental schools

Building on these initial experiences and international recognition through awards from EAPD in 2024, IAPD in 2025, and most recently ADEE in 2026, the PaFein+ Project is now seeking collaboration with dental schools across Europe to reach more dental students, educators, and professionals, strengthen their competencies, and ultimately improve children’s dental experiences through more comfortable, pain- and anxiety-free dental care.

Interested schools could host an introductory PaFein+ seminar and hands-on workshop, allowing students and faculty members to experience the educational approach directly. This could provide a starting point for academic exchange, local evaluation and discussion how PaFein+ components might complement existing teaching in paediatric dentistry, modern behaviour guidance, Minimally Intervention Dentistry and pain-free local anaesthesia.

The PaFein+ team sincerely thanks ADEE for hosting the project at the 2026 Annual Meeting in Budapest, for recognising it through the ADEE–Haleon Dentistry in Society Award, and, most importantly, for providing the opportunity to share and disseminate the PaFein+ educational project within the wider dental education community.

Opportunities for Collaboration:

Dental schools interested in learning more about the PaFein+ Project, hosting an introductory PaFein+ Seminar and Hands-on workshop in 2027, evaluating the programme, or exploring its possible integration into their curricula are warmly invited to contact the project team.

PaFein+ Project ID: Erasmus+ 2023-1-TR01-KA220- HED-000155608