The Effect of an Audiovisual Distraction Method on 6-10-Years Old Children’s Behavior During Dental Treatment: A Clinical Trial

Abstract

Objective: Management of uncooperative and anxious children during dental treatment is a major problem in pediatric dentistry. This study was designed to assess the effect of an audiovisual distraction method in minimizing the fear and anxiety of the child patient during dental treatment. 
 Methods: A randomized clinical trial with a parallel design was carried out on 40 children aged between 6 and 10 years to ascertain the efficacy of the audiovisual (virtual reality eyeglasses) distraction method in reducing children's dental anxiety during local anesthetic administration. Forty children were randomly divided into two groups; the control group (conventional local anesthesia injection alone) and the study group (conventional local anesthesia injection combined with audio-visual virtual reality eyeglasses). The pain experience and anxiety were assessed using a combination of measures: visual analog scale (child self-report) & visual analog scale (parent report), pulse rate and oxygen saturation SpO2 (physiological), and behavior assessment performed using (Frankl’s behavior rating scale and Houpt’s scale). 
 Results: All 40 children completed the study. A highly significant reduction in the child’s anxiety and pain experienced in the audiovisual distraction group was seen as reported by the visual analog scale (p < 0.001) and Houpt scale (p < 0.003). In contrast, pulse rate and spo2 showed no statistically significant difference between the two groups. 
 Conclusions: Audiovisual distraction method offers an effective distraction tool for alleviating the pain and unpleasantness that arises while administering local anesthesia in dental treatment.