Moradpoor H, et al. (2024). The effect of virtual reality on reducing patients’ anxiety and pain during dental implant surgery. BMC Oral Health, 24, Article 793. https://bmcoralhealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12903-024-03904-8
INTRODUCTION
Dental implant surgeries can evoke significant anxiety and pain in patients. Traditional methods to alleviate these concerns have included pharmacological interventions and behavioural techniques. Previous studies have found success with music distraction and virtual reality (VR) has also been explored for various procedures. This study investigates VR as a non-pharmacological intervention to enhance patient comfort during implant surgery specifically.
Objective
To evaluate the effectiveness of VR environments in reducing anxiety and pain among patients undergoing dental implant surgeries.
Methodology
- Design: Randomized controlled trial.
- Participants: 73 patients scheduled for two implant surgeries.
- Procedure: Each patient underwent:
- One surgery with VR (immersive natural environments).
- One surgery without VR
- Measurements:
- Anxiety: Assessed using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and Modified Dental Anxiety Scale (MDAS).
- Pain: Measured using the Numerical Rating Scale (NRS).
- Physiological Parameters: Heart rate and blood pressure.
- Additional Metrics: Patient satisfaction, surgeon’s perceived distress, memory vividness, and time perception.
Findings
- Anxiety Influenced: Significant decrease in anxiety levels during VR-assisted surgeries compared to standard procedures. However, some patients reported feeling vulnerable due to the reduced awareness of their surroundings.
- Pain Alleviation: Lower pain scores were reported when VR was utilized.
- Physiological Benefits: Notable reductions in heart rate and blood pressure during VR sessions.
- Patient Satisfaction: 90.4% of participants expressed willingness to use VR in future dental treatments.
- Surgeon Experience: Surgeons reported decreased stress levels when patients used VR.
- Cognitive Effects: Patients experienced less vivid memories of the procedure and perceived the duration as shorter under VR.
- It is worth noting that with regards to VR costs, this study suggests these have decreased over time. There is an acknowledgement of the equipment used being bulky also which can affect practicality.
CONCLUSION
The integration of VR into dental practices may offer a promising avenue to improve patient comfort without relying on medications. Its adoption could enhance patient care by making dental procedures more tolerable. Further research to investigate the practicalities of VR use could be valuable—particularly studies assessing long-term outcomes, cost-effectiveness, larger sample sizes, and integration into routine practice. As technology becomes more accessible and streamlined, VR has the potential to become a widely accepted tool in reducing dental anxiety.
Research Summary Written By: Rania Husain, University of Aberdeen – BDS2