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Virtual Reality in Pediatric Dentistry

NCT05585905 · Status: COMPLETED · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 20

Last updated 2026-05-18

Study results available
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Summary

Dental Fear and Anxiety is an emotional experiences affecting many children and adolescents which can lead to behavioral problems in the dental setting. The purpose of the proposed study is to investigate the effect of virtual reality on anxiety, behavior, and pain in children undergoing restorative dental procedures. Children enrolled in the study will include patients ages 6-18 who are healthy and require two or more dental sealants (at least one sealant per side). The participants in the study will serve as their own control using a split-mouth cross-over randomized control clinical trial design and will be randomly assigned to receive virtual reality or traditional behavior guidance techniques first during dental sealant placement. The objectives of this study are to explore the associations between the use of virtual reality distraction during dental sealant placement with anxiety based on the change in heart rate, compared with to the control group. This model will include treatment, visit, treatment by visit interaction term as well as a treatment sequence variable. This is a pilot study. Data analyzed will be changed in heart rate between baseline and sealant placement using virtual reality or behavior guidance technique.. No statistical analysis will be conducted except mean and range.

Conditions

  • Behavior, Child
  • Anxiety, Dental

Interventions

DEVICE

Virtual Reality

The VR system will be worn for approximately 5-10 minutes during dental sealant application

BEHAVIORAL

Basic Behavior Guidance Techniques

Basic behavior guidance techniques will be used as a distraction technique when the VR system is not used during the dental sealant application

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • University of Southern California

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Carla Angela Alvarez, DMD · Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry Pediatric Department

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Model
CROSSOVER

Eligibility

Min Age
6 Years
Max Age
18 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2023-03-17
Primary Completion
2024-06-30
Completion
2024-06-30
FDA Device
Yes

Countries

  • United States

Study Locations

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Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT05585905 on ClinicalTrials.gov