Behaviour and Anxiety Management of Paediatric Dental Patients through Virtual Reality: A Randomised Clinical Trial

Abstract

Clinicians should appreciate the effectiveness of virtual reality (VR) headsets for managing both the anxiety and the behaviour of non-cooperative paediatric patients who require treatment over several dental appointments. The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of using a VR headset as a distraction for managing the anxiety and behaviour of paediatric patients during their dental treatment. Eighty patients, aged between five and ten years old and who required dental treatment over three or more appointments, were randomly allocated into two groups. One group used a VR headset during all their appointments, and the other one did not use any distraction technique. The patients were asked to take a Facial Image Scale Test during their first and last appointments to assess their level of anxiety. Additionally, the dentist completed the Frankl Test to quantify the child’s behaviour at the beginning and the end of their treatment. The results obtained, both from the group using the VR headset and from the control group, were compared using the chi-square test. The use of a VR headset during dental treatment significantly reduced anxiety (95% of the children were happy) and improved behaviour (100% positive behaviour) as compared with the control group (40% and 57.5%, respectively). A VR headset can effectively distract a paediatric patient, helping to reduce anxiety and manage behaviour during dental treatment

Distraction With Virtual Reality Goggles in Paediatric Dental Treatment: A Randomised Controlled Trial

“…The results of this study corroborate reports of the effectiveness of the use of VR goggles in decreasing pain and anxiety levels during dental procedures in children aged 4 to 12 years. 9 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 24 , 25 , 26 Shetty et al 9 found statistically significant decreases in anxiety and pain levels, and also in cortisol levels before, during, and after the procedure, amongst children who used compared to those who did not use VR goggles. Ran et al 26 found that the use of VR goggles decreased levels of anxiety and pain and also shortened the duration of the procedure.…”

“…15 A number of studies have demonstrated the use of VR to reduce pain and anxiety in certain dental procedures. 9 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 In those randomised clinical trials, the participants were allocated to 2 groups, 1 treated with VR and the other without. Anxiety and pain were measured at the end of the dental visit, which may have varied in length, local anaesthesia method, or type of restorative treatment.…”

Investigating the Effect of Virtual Reality on Reducing the Anxiety in Children: A Systematic Review

“…The characteristics of all the studies included are reported in Table 2. Out of 10 incoming studies, 3 studies (30%) in Korea [2,24,25] and other studies in Brazil [19], Iran [20], Netherlands [21], Saudi Arabia [22], Republic of Korea [1], Spain [23] and China [3]. Studies in two categories of randomized trial (20%) [21,24] and randomized clinical trial (60%) [1-3, 19, 20, 22, 23, 25] Were classified.…”

“…Input studies included 882 participants. The mean age of participants was from 5.5 [24] to 7.9 [21,23] years.…”

“…In 7 of the studies, children and parents were satisfied with the virtual reality intervention in reducing anxiety, and in all 7 cases, users were highly satisfied [1-3, 19, 23-25]. In 3 cases of studies found from virtual reality technology in reducing pediatric anxiety in dentistry [3,19,23], 4 cases before surgery [20,21,24,25], 2 cases related to anxiety before shelf radiography of breasts [1,2] and one case were used during preoperative anesthesia [22].…”