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Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Research Protocols

Date Submitted: Jun 18, 2023
Date Accepted: Sep 18, 2023

The final, peer-reviewed published version of this preprint can be found here:

Effects of a Virtual Reality Game on Children’s Anxiety During Dental Procedures (VR-TOOTH): Protocol for a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

Wu W, Le May S, Hung N, Genest C, Francoeur M, Guingo E, St-Arneault K, Sylfra A, Vu AK, Carmel J, Lessard L, Cara-Slavich S, De Koven K, Paquette J, Hoffman H, Asselin ME

Effects of a Virtual Reality Game on Children’s Anxiety During Dental Procedures (VR-TOOTH): Protocol for a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

JMIR Res Protoc 2023;12:e49956

DOI: 10.2196/49956

PMID: 37948113

PMCID: 10674143

The Effects of A Virtual Reality Game on Children’s Anxiety During Dental Procedures (VR-TOOTH): A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial Protocol

  • Wenjia Wu; 
  • Sylvie Le May; 
  • Nicole Hung; 
  • Christine Genest; 
  • Maxime Francoeur; 
  • Estelle Guingo; 
  • Kate St-Arneault; 
  • Annie Sylfra; 
  • An Kateri Vu; 
  • Janick Carmel; 
  • Laurence Lessard; 
  • Stephany Cara-Slavich; 
  • Katheryn De Koven; 
  • Julie Paquette; 
  • Hunter Hoffman; 
  • Marie-Eve Asselin

ABSTRACT

Background:

Dental fear and anxiety (DFA) is a condition that affects approximately a quarter of children and adolescents. It is a significant cause for pediatric patients to avoid dental care later in adulthood. Lack of patient cooperation due to DFA can create an environment of stress, often obligating dentists to end appointments prematurely and consider alternative pharmacological treatment options. Virtual reality use during dental care, providing an immersive experience through sensory stimuli, is potentially an additional non-pharmacologic tool to better manage DFA in children with special health care needs (SHCN) undergoing dental procedures.

Objective:

This pilot study aims to assess the feasibility and acceptability of VR immersion as a tool to reduce dental fear and anxiety in pediatric special needs patients undergoing dental procedures. The study also aims to gain insight on parent and healthcare providers perspectives on the use of VR during dental appointments.

Methods:

This pilot randomized controlled trial study will follow a parallel design including two groups: a control group (clinic’s standard care using a wall TV) and an experimental group (using a VR game). Twenty participants will be randomized to either group. Recruitment will be carried out at the dental clinic of the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Sainte-Justine, a tertiary-quaternary care center that mostly serves pediatric patients with SHCN. The primary outcome will be patient recruitment rates and of completion rate of planned procedures. Dental fear and anxiety in children using both observation-based proxy assessment with the Venham Anxiety and Behavior Rating Scale (VABRS) and physiological assessment using parameters such as change in heart rate and levels of salivary alpha-amylase as stress biomarker before and 15-minutes after the procedure will be assessed. Sociodemographic characteristics, measures of level of satisfaction of parents and healthcare professionals, occurrence of side effects and any deviation from normal procedure length will also be collected. Descriptive, non-parametric tests and effect sizes will be used for demographic and clinical variables and also to present parents and healthcare professionals' satisfaction levels, and procedural time.

Results:

This study will be conducted from May 2023 to May 2024, with results expected to be available in December 2024.

Conclusions:

The pilot study will provide insight on the feasibility and acceptability of VR use in clinical dentistry to reduce dental fear and anxiety of pediatric patients with SHCN. This study will guide future research on VR use in pediatric dentistry and can serve as a framework for a larger randomized clinical trial. Clinical Trial: Ntc05898100


 Citation

Please cite as:

Wu W, Le May S, Hung N, Genest C, Francoeur M, Guingo E, St-Arneault K, Sylfra A, Vu AK, Carmel J, Lessard L, Cara-Slavich S, De Koven K, Paquette J, Hoffman H, Asselin ME

Effects of a Virtual Reality Game on Children’s Anxiety During Dental Procedures (VR-TOOTH): Protocol for a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

JMIR Res Protoc 2023;12:e49956

DOI: 10.2196/49956

PMID: 37948113

PMCID: 10674143

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