Efficacy of Virtual Reality in Reducing Injection Pain and Anxiety During Local Anesthesia in Children

The aim of this study is to determine the efficacy of a virtual reality (VR) device in reducing injection pain and anxiety associated with local anesthesia in pediatric dental patients. The clinical trial is a randomized split-mouth assignment. Included patients are 8-12 years old requiring local anesthetic infiltration with conventional syringe (CS) for conservative treatment of two primary maxillary molars bilaterally. Eligible patients undergo two single-visit treatments after CFSS-DS measurement before each, whereas VR is allocated to either first or second local anesthesia procedure. Primary outcome measure will be pain felt during injection, reported by patient on visual analogue scale (VAS). Secondary outcome measures: self-reported anxiety during injection on FIS; pain-related behavior according to FLACC scale; heart-rate dynamics; patient preference to local anesthesia method - CS or CS+VR.