The Use of Virtual Reality Goggles

The Use of Virtual Reality Goggles on Patient Pain and Behavior in Pediatric Dentistry; a Pilot Study

The purpose of this research study is to evaluate the effectiveness of virtual-reality audio-visual distraction goggles on pain and behavior scores in a population of 8-12 year old dental patients receiving routine dental care in an outpatient clinical setting.

All appointments will take place at the College of Dentistry Department of Pediatric Dentistry. The first day's appointment will consist of clinically-indicated cleaning, radiographs and treatment planning. Toward the end of the first appointment, the participant will wear the virtual reality goggles for 5 minutes, in order to become familiar with the device. During these 5 minutes, fluoride varnish will be applied. The application of the varnish would occur whether the participant is in the research or not.

At the second or third appointments, the goggles will be randomly used during the restorative treatment. Whether the participant uses the goggles at the second or third visit will be determined purely by chance, like flipping a coin. No nitrous oxide will be used, but local anesthesia will still be administered as standard. The participant will use a 1-10 scale at the end of each appointment to rate pain levels, and a research team member(the dental assistant) will assign a 1-4 scale value for behavior. The 1-10 scale will consist of the Wong-Baker Faces Pain Scale.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Healthy, no history of seizures or neurological disturbance, requires two quadrants of dentistry

Exclusion Criteria:

• History of dental anxiety