Effects of The Virtual Reality "Dream" Game on Anxiety During Dental Procedures in Children (VR-TOOTH): A Pilot Randomized, Controlled Trial

Background

Dental fear and anxiety (DFA) is a condition that affects approximately 13.3% to 29.3% of children and adolescents, and is a significant cause of patients avoiding dental care. In children, DFA is also associated with a lower oral-health-related quality of life. Although the etiology of DFA is multifactorial, often stemming from both exogenous and endogenous sources, a previous traumatic dental experience is the most predictive factor for DFA. The majority of DFA experienced by adults stems from poor dental experiences as children. These findings highlight the importance of keeping each dental experience a positive one for pediatric patients. Short term distress during appointments that is not managed properly can accumulate into poor dental experiences, and in turn, reinforcing DFA into adulthood. Long term effects of these poor dental experiences as children can lead patients to avoid seeking proper dental care in the future.

Dental patients with special health care needs (SHCN) are defined as patients requiring additional time and special consideration when receiving treatment due to medical, physical, cognitive or developmental conditions. The population includes children with behaviour (e.g. autism spectrum, anxiety, ADHD), congenital (e.g. trisomy 21, congenital heart disease), developmental (e.g. cerebral palsy), systemic (e.g. childhood cancer, sickle cell disease), or cognitive disorders (eg. intellectual disability). Children with SHCN face more barriers to dental care than the overall population. Barriers include external factors (transportation, cost, inadequate dental facilities) and internal factors (fear and poor tolerance). Many children with SHCN are cared for by dentists in the community, or more often times, in hospital dental clinic settings. They likewise experience more anxiety than those without a disability, which can result in more difficult dental visits. The importance in providing well-rounded care and making each dental visit a positive one for pediatric patients with SHCN is crucial in promoting a good oral health routine, as well as improving their oral health into adulthood.

Understanding and assessing DFA in children is important for delivering successful dental care with high satisfaction in this age group. Among the vast assessment method options available today, self-report assessment, parental proxy assessment, observation-based assessment and physiological assessment are the four major types for children with SHCN. Further, salivary alpha-amylase, an enzyme correlated to both adrenaline and noradrenaline, has also been used as a marker for autonomic nervous system activity and stress.

Factors in the dental setting that trigger DFA include the loud sounds of dental instruments, presence of strangers examining the oral cavity, and the fear of pain. Of these, the anticipation and use of local anesthetic injections are by far the main triggers. Although necessary to provide adequate pain control during certain treatments, local anesthetic injections are uncomfortable. For children, the initial injection combined with the feeling of numbness during the procedure is especially distressing. Pharmacological agents, combined with light to moderate sedation, or general anesthesia can also be considered for non-cooperative patients, but they are often time consuming and at a higher cost as well as generating health risks. Audiovisual distractions such as tablets/TV screens have been used as distraction techniques during dental procedures with overall positive results. However, there is a lack of interactivity of these techniques, and as a result, are not enough to distract children from the stressful procedure. Further, lack of patient cooperation due to DFA often requires dentists treating pediatric populations to end appointments prematurely, and sometimes without completion of the planned procedure. Treating an anxious and fearful patient can also create an environment of stress for the clinician and associated dental team.