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Comparison Between the Analgesic Effectiveness of Virtual Reality and Topical Anesthesia: A Clinical Study

Comparative Evaluation of The Analgesic Effect of Virtual Reality With Topical Anesthesia to Reduce Pain During Administration of Local Anesthesia

Status
Completed
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT04919421
Enrollment
20
Registered
2021-06-09
Start date
2019-11-10
Completion date
2020-01-30
Last updated
2021-06-09

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Pain

Keywords

pain perception, virtual reality

Brief summary

A split-mouth, controlled trial aimed to clinically compare and evaluate the effectiveness of virtual reality versus topical anesthesia gel prior to administration of dental anesthesia injection in reducing the perceived pain and anxiety level in adult patients and to find out their preferred procedure. Heart rate before and after the end of the procedure will be identified, pain intensity of the injection will be identified using a scale, and finally patients' preference will be identified using a questionnaire.

Detailed description

Steps of the Experiment Step I: before the administration of the local anesthesia injection, heart rate will be measured for the patients using an FDA Approved pulse oximeter (Santa Medical SM-165 Finger Pulse Oximeter). Findings will be recorded. Step II: at the first appointment, patients will be randomly allocated to receive the injection of the local anesthesia either with topical anesthetic gel or with virtual reality in one side of the jaw. Step III: immediately after dental anesthesia injection procedure, the patient will be asked to rate the level of perceived pain, using Wong-Baker faces pain rating scale (WBFPS). Step IV: after the administration of the local anesthesia injection, heart rate will be measured for the patients an FDA Approved pulse oximeter (Santa Medical SM-165 Finger Pulse Oximeter). Findings will be recorded. Step V: in the next appointment, the other technique (virtual reality or topical anesthetic gel) will be used on the contralateral side for the same patients. So each patient will receive local anesthesia injection twice, one with topical anesthetic gel and one else with VR in the contralateral side. Step VI: after completion of both procedures, each patient will be asked to state his/her preference for the delivery system of future injections to be recorded.

Interventions

DRUGDental injection and topical gel application

Topical anesthesia gel will be applied followed by dental injection with 1.8 ml Xylocaine 20mg/ml (DENSPLY Pharmaceutical); adrenaline: 1 : 100.000, delivered in cartridges using a 27 -gauge short needle (0.4 x 25 mm,C-K jet) and sterile non-aspirating syringe.

DEVICEDental injection and virtual reality device

Dental injection will be made while the participants are wearing virtual reality device.

Sponsors

Riyadh Elm University
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 65 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

* American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) class I, aged between 18 and 65, both male and female, who required bilateral local anesthetic injections in the premolar teeth in the upper jaw. * Participants are in good general health, take no medications, and have no contraindications to the use of local anesthetic. * The ability to understand oral and written instructions, and the ability to use the VR controller.

Exclusion criteria

* Patients who need intravenous sedation cannot participate in the study. * If a patient requires only single visit/ treatment or if he/she cannot attend the other visit.

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Heart rateimmediately after the intervention/procedure (injection)heart rate will be measured for the participants using an FDA Approved pulse oximeter (Santa Medical SM-165 Finger Pulse Oximeter)
Wong-Baker faces pain rating scale (WBFPS)3 minutes after the intervention/procedure (injection)A tool to measure the intensity of pain comprising a scale from 0 to 10. The patient will select a number based on the intensity of the pain, 0 means no pain, 10 means extremely severe pain.
Participant's future preference5 minutes after the intervention/procedure (injection)Each participant will be asked by a questionnaire to state his/her preference for the delivery system of future injections

Countries

Saudi Arabia

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026