The aim of the present study was to assess pain and the need for anesthesia during chemomechanical caries removal with Papacarie gel and the traditional method (low-speed bur) in pediatric patients. A randomized, controlled, clinical trial with a "split-mouth" design was carried out involving 20 children (10 girls and 10 boys) aged four to seven years. Forty primary teeth (two per child) were randomly allocated to either Group 1 (G1: chemomechanical caries removal with Papacarie gel) or Group 2 (G2: removal of carious dentin with low-speed bur). A face scale was used to classify the sensation of pain during the procedure (1: absence of pain; 2: mild pain; 3: moderate pain; 4: moderately intense pain; 5: intense pain; and 6: extremely intense pain). Statistical analysis of the data was performed using the Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney (U) test. Pain scores were higher in G2, with statistically significant differences in comparison to G1 (U = 148.0; W = 358.0; P = 0.041). Chemomechanical caries removal with Papacarie provides a lesser degree of pain in comparison to conventional caries removal and does not require the use of local anesthesia. The clinical trial registration number is NCT01811420.