The Feasibility and Clinical Utility of the Use of Virtual reality (VR) for the Management of Pediatric Dental Anxiety
Aynaz Khodayari1,2, Rahaf Althagafy1,2, Edwin Chan1,2, Argerie Tsimicalis3, Beatriz Ferraz dos Santos1,2
1Division of Dentistry, Department of Pediatric Surgery, Montreal Children’s Hospital, 2Faculty of Dental Medicine and Oral Health Sciences, McGill University, 3Shriners Hospital for Children - Canada
The use of virtual reality (VR), an interactive 3-dimensional simulated environment accessed through a head-mounted device, has been progressively incorporated in pediatric healthcare settings as a distraction method for fearful and anxious children. Evidence has shown that VR can significantly lower children’s self-reported anxiety and pain during dental treatments. However, despite the recent technological advances leading to considerable cost reductions for VR equipment, this technology has not been used in Canadian pediatric settings, especially in dentistry. Thus, this study aims to assess the efficacy of using a VR headset as a distraction technique to reduce children’s anxiety during dental treatment.
Methods: A single site randomized clinical trial with parallel groups is currently in progress. Children aged 6 to 12 years scheduled for a dental treatment (i.e. restorative treatment, pulp therapy or extractions) at the Division of Dentistry will be included. Participants will be randomly assigned (1:1 ratio) into two groups: i) dental treatment using VR; and ii) control group using regular behavior management techniques (i.e. tell-show-do). Based on a 0.8 power and a significance level of 0.05, a sample of 128 children is needed. Following informed consent, the child’s caregiver from both groups will fill out a questionnaire including the child’s age, sex, ethnicity, and previous dental history. Children’s anxiety and pain perception will be assessed by the Wong-Baker FACES scaze, The Child Fear
Scale, and FLACC scale. To evaluate children’s satisfaction with the dental treatment, a Visual Analogue Scale will be used. Children from both groups will also be monitored for hemodynamic indicators including blood pressure, heart rate, and oxygen saturation. A 4-point Likert scale questionnaire will be used to assess oral healthcare providers’ perceptions of the use of VR in pediatric patients.
Results: The study is under ethics evaluation from the Research Ethics Board of the McGill University Health Centre.
Significance and knowledge translation: The findings of this research are expected to be published in a high-quality peer-reviewed journal and presented in scientific conferences. Study results will be shared with the clinicians working at the Montreal Children’s Hospital. Information regarding the study and its findings will be posted on the website - https://www.mcgill.ca/virtualrealityforchildcare