Effectiveness of Visual Distraction with and without Virtual Reality Glasses in Reducing Dental Anxiety among Children with Hearing and Speech Disability: A Pilot Study

To assess the effectiveness of visual distraction with and without virtual reality glasses in reducing dental anxiety among children with hearing and speech disabilities undergoing dental treatment. Twenty-four children with hearing and speech disabilities aged 6-12 years were selected and were randomly divided into three groups (N = 8). Children in group A received no distraction, group B received visual distraction using virtual reality (VR) glasses and group C received visual distraction without VR glasses during dental treatment. The anxiety levels were measured using PJS- Pictorial Scale and physiological parameters - before, during, and after a dental procedure. Then intragroup and intergroup comparison was done. Intragroup comparison showed that "During" and "Post" treatment anxiety scores were significantly ( < 0.05) lower than that of "baseline" in group B. Intergroup comparison of anxiety scores in the three groups, at all three intervals, showed a statistically significant difference in the "during treatment" anxiety score ( = 0.049) with least score in group B. Visual distraction using VR glasses can be recommended as an effective distraction technique in reducing dental anxiety among children with speech and hearing disabilities. Kaur J, Shivashankarappa PG, A S, Effectiveness of Visual Distraction with and without Virtual Reality Glasses in Reducing Dental Anxiety among Children with Hearing and Speech Disability: A Pilot Study. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2021;14(S-2):S162-S166.