ABSTRACT

Introduction: Controlling child's dental anxiety is an integral part in pediatric dentistry. Numerous methods are used to control dental anxiety in children. Audiovisual distraction using virtual reality (VR) glasses is a non-pharmacological intervention that can be used to manage child's anxiety during dental treatment.

Objectives: To evaluate and compare the effect of VR glasses to conventional behavior management techniques on child's anxiety during pulpotomy.

Methodology: The study was a randomized controlled clinical trial. The sample consisted of twenty preschool children of age ranging from 4 to 5 years old presented to the Department of Pediatric Dentistry and Dental Public Health, Faculty of Dentistry, Alexandria University. The selected children had at least one mandibular primary molar indicated for pulpotomy. The eligible participants were randomly and equally divided into an experimental group, where VR glasses distraction was used for child behavior management and a control group, where conventional behavior management techniques were used. Pre and post-operative assessment of child's dental anxiety was done using (a) Venham clinical anxiety rating scale (b) Changes in salivary cortisol level.

Statistical Method: Mann-Whitney test, Friedman test, and Wilcoxon signed rank test were used. Significance level was set at P value < 0.05.

Results: The VR group showed significantly lower scores for Venham clinical anxiety rating scale than the control group during intraoral examination (P=0.02). However, there were no significant changes in salivary cortisol level in any of the groups.

Conclusion: VR glasses were useful in managing dental anxiety in preschool children especially during intraoral examination.