Efficacy of virtual reality exposure therapy for the treatment of dental phobia in adults: A randomized controlled trial

Fernández

et al. 2020

JCM

Background: Dental treatments often cause pain and anxiety in patients. Virtual reality (VR) is a novel procedure that can provide distraction during dental procedures or prepare patients to receive such type of treatments. This meta-analysis is the first to gather evidence on the effectiveness of VR on the reduction of pain (P) and dental anxiety (DA) in patients undergoing dental treatment, regardless of age. Methods: MEDLINE, CENTRAL, PubMed, EMBASE, Wiley Library and Web of Science were searched for scientific articles in November 2019. The keywords used were: “virtual reality”, “distraction systems”, “dental anxiety” and “pain”. Studies where VR was used for children and adults as a measure against anxiety and pain during dental treatments were included. VR was defined as a three-dimensional environment that provides patients with a sense of immersion, transporting them to appealing and interactive settings. Anxiety and pain results were assessed during dental treatments where VR was used, and in standard care situations. Results: 31 studies were identified, of which 14 met the inclusion criteria. Pain levels were evaluated in four studies (n = 4), anxiety levels in three (n = 3) and anxiety and pain together in seven (n = 7). Our meta-analysis was based on ten studies (n = 10). The effect of VR was studied mainly in the pediatric population (for pain SMD = −0.82). In the adult population, only two studies (not significant) were considered. Conclusions: The findings of the meta-analysis show that VR is an effective distraction method to reduce pain and anxiety in patients undergoing a variety of dental treatments; however, further research on VR as a tool to prepare patients for dental treatment is required because of the scarcity of studies in this area.

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Characteristics Of the Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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RETRACTED: Use of Virtual Reality for the Management of Anxiety and Pain in Dental Treatments: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Fernández

et al. 2020

JCM

“…Three duplicate studies were removed after an initial screening. A second screening, led to the removal of 14 studies, which left a total of 15 studies, and then we removed seven more: two for treating dental phobia through virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET) instead of distraction [ 8 , 9 ], one for being a protocol [ 20 ], one for not measuring DA/Pain as output, although DA is used as a predictor [ 11 ], two for being half-mouth [ 21 , 22 ], and one for lack of enough data for meta-analysis [ 23 ]. This yielded a final sample of eight studies for the analysis ( Figure 1 , Flowchart): seven in children [ 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 ] and one in adults [ 31 ].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The benefits of using VR for the reduction of DA, P levels and dental phobia (a severe form of dental anxiety) during dental procedures has been extensively addressed in scientific literature [ 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 ], and its usefulness as a distraction tool is receiving increasing attention in medical contexts [ 11 ]. During aversive experiences, VR can improve pain management [ 12 ] and reduce the perceived duration of the procedure [ 13 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Use of Virtual Reality for the Management of Anxiety and Pain in Dental Treatments: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Muriel-Fernández

et al. 2020

JCM

(1) Background: Dental treatments often cause pain and anxiety in patients. Virtual reality (VR) is a novel procedure that can provide distraction during dental procedures or prepare patients to receive such type of treatments. This meta-analysis is the first to gather evidence on the effectiveness of VR on the reduction of pain (P) and dental anxiety (DA) in patients undergoing dental treatment, regardless of age. (2) Methods: MEDLINE, CENTRAL, PubMed, EMBASE, Wiley Library and Web of Science were searched for scientific articles in November 2019. The keywords used were: “virtual reality”, “distraction systems”, “dental anxiety” and “pain”. Studies where VR was used for children and adults as a measure against anxiety and pain during dental treatments were included. VR was defined as a three-dimensional environment that provides patients with a sense of immersion, transporting them to appealing and interactive settings. Anxiety and pain results were assessed during dental treatments where VR was used and in standard care situations. (3) Results: 32 studies were identified, of which 8 met the inclusion criteria. The effect of VR in children was significant, both for anxiety (standardized mean difference (SMD) = −1.75) and pain (SMD = −1.46). (4) Conclusions: The findings of the meta-analysis show that VR is an effective distraction method to reduce pain and anxiety in patients undergoing a variety of dental treatments; however, further research on VR as a tool to prepare patients for dental treatment is required because of the scarcity of studies in this area.

Clin Psychology and Psychoth

Addressing virtual reality misclassification: A hardware‐based qualification matrix for virtual reality technology

Takac

Collett

Conduit

et al. 2021

Through its unique sensory synchronized design, virtual reality (VR) provides a convincing, user-centred experience of highly controllable scenarios. Importantly, VR is a promising modality for healthcare, where treatment efficacy has been recognized for a range of conditions. It is equally valuable across wider research disciplines. However, there is a lack of suitable criteria and consistent terminology with which to define VR technology. A considerable number of studies have misclassified VR hardware (e.g. defining laptops as VR), hindering validity and research comparisons. This review addresses these limitations and establishes a standardized VR qualification framework. As a result of a comprehensive theoretical and literature review, the hardware-based VR qualification matrix is proposed.The matrix criteria consist of (1) three-dimensional (3D) synchronized sensory stimulation; (2) degrees of freedom tracking; and (3) visual suppression of physical stimuli. To validate the model and quantify the current scale/diversity of VR misclassification, a 2019 sectional review of health-related studies was conducted.Of the 115 studies examined against standardized criteria, 35.7% utilized VR, 31.3% misclassified VR, 18.3% were considered quasi-VR, and 14.8% omitted critical specifications. The proposed model demonstrates good validity and reliability for qualifying and classifying VR.