Behavior, Children, Only, Dental Anxiety
Conditions
Brief summary
The use of virtual reality (VR) in pediatric healthcare settings helps to reduce children's pain and anxiety. However, this technology has not been used consistently in pediatric dentistry. Consequently, the goal of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of using a Virtual Reality headset as a distraction technique during dental procedures in children and identify patient and clinician's opinions regarding its use. This study incorporates a single-site, randomized clinical trial design with two paralleled study groups. One group will receive dental treatment following regular standard of care of behavior management while the second group will receive dental treatment using a Virtual Reality distraction headset. Patients in both groups will complete a questionnaire to assess their perception of pain and anxiety before and after the intervention, as well as their satisfaction with the dental treatment. The dentist providing the treatment will also report their observations relating to patient behavior during dental treatment.
Interventions
DEVICEVirtual reality headset
Use of a virtual reality headset during pediatric dental care
Sponsors
McGill University Health Centre/Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
OTHER
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
6 Years to 12 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* Children aged between 6 and 12 years and their accompanying parent/legal-guardian. * Children scheduled for one of the following procedures: restorative treatments (amalgam, composite or stainless-steel crowns), pulp therapy and extractions * Children that can understand and speak French or English.
Exclusion criteria
* Children diagnosed with a cognitive, auditory, or cognitive impairment preventing them from interacting with the VR game. * Children diagnosed with epilepsy or any other condition preventing them from playing the VR game. * Children requiring urgent dental care * Children requiring dental treatment with conscious sedation (i.e. nitrous oxide inhalation and/or oral sedation with benzodiazepines)
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Children's pain perception during dental treatment | Baseline | Children's perception of pain during dental treatment will be assessed by the Wong- Baker FACES scale. The 'Face, Legs, Activity, Cry, Consolability' (FLACC), a common behavioral pain external observation scale, will also be used. Higher the score more discomfort and pain experienced by the patient. |
| Children's fear during dental treatment | Baseline | The Child Fear Scale will be used to assess the anxiety felt by the participants during dental treatment |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Children's acceptability of virtual reality intervention during dental care | Baseline | The Patient Perception 5-item questionnaire will be used to assess participants acceptability of the VR intervention. |
| Oral health care provider's acceptability of virtual reality during dental care | Baseline | A 4-point Likert-scale questionnaire will be used to assess oral health care providers' acceptability of VR during dental treatment. |
Countries
Canada
Contacts
Primary ContactBeatriz Ferraz dos Santos, DDS, MSc
Outcome results
None listed