To evaluate the effect of virtual reality (VR) distraction on anxiety and pain during buccal infiltration anesthesia (BIA) in pediatric patients.
Design and Participants: This randomized clinical trial was conducted including healthy, and cooperative 6-12-year-old children, with no known allergy and/or sensitivity to local anesthesia who are currently in need of nonemergency dental treatment under local anesthetic infiltration by one of the postgraduate or interns at the pediatric dentistry students, were eligible for the study. Patients with history of epilepsy and anxiety disorder were excluded from the study Methods and Material: In the test group, subjects received BIA while being distracted using VR goggles; in the control group, subjects watched a cartoon video on a regular screen. Subjects' heart rate (HR) was measured at baseline and at four different timepoints during BIA administration to assess anxiety. The face, legs, activity, cry, consolability (FLACC) Behavioral Pain Assessment Scale was scored by two calibrated investigators to assess pain. After BIA, subjects rated their pain using the Arabic version of Wong-Baker FACES Pain Rating Scale.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
SUPPORTIVE_CARE
Masking
SINGLE
Enrollment
50
Virtual reality goggles are commercially available wearable devices that are used to view view videos and play video games three dimensionally.
A cartoon video was played on a regular TV screen.
King Abdulaziz University
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Dental Pain measured using the Wong-Baker FACES Pain Rating Scale
Wong-Baker FACES Pain Rating Scale is a six point scale (0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10) where higher scores indicate worse pain.
Time frame: Immediately after the local anesthesia administration, subjects were put in an upright position and asked to rate their pain using a validated Arabic version of Wong-Baker FACES Pain Rating Scale.
Dental Pain and Behavior measured using Face, Legs, Activity, Cry, Consolability (FLACC ) Behavioral Pain Assessment Scale
Face, Legs, Activity, Cry, Consolability (FLACC ) Behavioral Pain Assessment Scale scores range from 0 to 10 where higher scores indicate more severe pain and discomfort.
Time frame: Throughout the procedure of local anesthesia administration (which is approximately 8 minutes long), FLACC Scale was recorded by two trained and calibrated investigators independently.
Heart Rate(HR)
Heart beats per minute measured using a pulse oximeter
Time frame: HR was recorded 5 times: 1) once subject is on the dental chair; 2) video on (about 3 min later); 3) topical anesthesia (about 2 min later); 4) needle insertion (about 2 min later); 5) immediately after local anesthesia is complete (about 1 min later).
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