The influence of Audio-visual virtual reality eye glasses on severity of pain and anxiety during inferior alveolar nerve-block in 6-8 age children

Abstract

The present study evaluated the influence of using audio-visual eyeglasses on severity of pain and state anxiety during injection for inferior alveolar nerve block in pediatric dental patients. Materials and Methods: This double-blind crossover clinical trial included 40 healthy children aged 6-8 years of age. Children having the inclusion criteria (including a score 25 on SCARED test) were coded and randomly divided into two groups, each consisting of 20 children. The study consisted of 3 consecutive treatment sessions. During the first visit prophylactic fluoride therapy was carried out in both groups. In the next session in group one VR audiovisual eyeglasses were used during injection and in the second group injection was carried out with no intervention. During the last session injection was carried out with no intervention in the first group but by using audio-visual eyeglasses in the second group. Then at the end of each session the subjects' pain severity was assessed using pictorial VAS (Visual Analog Scale) and state anxiety was measured by Modified Child Dental Anxiety Scale (MCDAS). Results: There was a significant decrease in pain perception (P<0.001) and state anxiety scores (P<0.001) with the use of audio-visual eyeglasses during dental injection. Conclusion: The results of this study showed that VR audio-visual eyeglasses can successfully decrease pain perception and state anxiety during injection for inferior alveolar nerve block.