Contribution of virtual reality in oral surgery: A literature review

Abstract

Oral cavity care is very much associated with perceptions of pain and anxiety. Oral health practitioners have many solutions in order to reduce patients' apprehension, and an alternative non-drug technique has increased: the use of virtual reality (VR). The aim of this review is to highlight the contribution of virtual reality headsets in reducing anxiety and pre- and post- operative pain in patients having oral surgery. PubMed and Cochrane Library have been searched for scientific articles with MESH words «virtual reality », « oral surgery », « anxiety » and « pain ». 8 articles were identified and 6 met the inclusion criteria. Among the 6 articles analyzed, 4 were control trials and 2 were methodological descriptions. 2 clinical trials found statistically significant results on the outcome measures of pre-operative and post-operative anxiety and pain felt. The use of VR in oral surgery seems to have an impact in reducing anxiety and pre- and post- operative pain, but more studies are needed to confirm its effectiveness.

Keywords: Anxiety; Oral surgery; Pain; Virtual reality.