Goodship Nicola, Taylor Greig
General Professional Trainee, School of Dental Sciences, Newcastle University, Faculty of Medical Science, Newcastle, UK.
Clinical Lecturer in Paediatric Dentistry, School of Dental Sciences, Newcastle University, Faculty of Medical Science, Newcastle, UK.
Evid Based Dent. 2025 Mar;26(1):59-60. doi: 10.1038/s41432-025-01127-6. Epub 2025 Feb 20.
Nezhad H M, Ashourioun A, Sadeghdaghighi A The effect of virtual reality for anxiety and pain in dentistry: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Community Dent Health 2024; 41: 248-255.
A systematic search was conducted across PubMed and Cochrane Library up to April 2024.
The article type was limited to Randomised Controlled Trials, comparing virtual reality (VR) interventions with non-VR methods in dental settings. The selection followed the PRISMA-P guidelines. Using the PICOS framework, studies involving dental patients of any age utilising VR during dental treatments and reporting outcomes on anxiety and pain were included.
Data extraction and quality appraisal were conducted independently by two reviewers using both the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluations (GRADE) approach and the Risk of Bias 2 (ROB-2) tool. Meta-analyses used a random-effects model.
A total of 263 studies resulted in the inclusion of 27 studies, encompassing several dental treatments. Evidence quality ranged from low to moderate. Meta-analysis of 14 studies, encompassing 957 patients, revealed VR significantly reduced anxiety in children (SMD -1.44, 95% CI -2.24 to -0.63, low quality of evidence). Metal-analysis of five studies (485 patients) revealed VR had no effect on adults' anxiety (SMD -0.35, 95% CI -1.11 to 0.4, low level of certainty). VR significantly reduced pain in both children (11 studies, 791 participants) (SMD -1.11, 95% CI -1.65 to -0.57, moderate level of certainty) and adults (6 studies, 557 participants) (SMD -0.59, 95% CI -1.187 to -0.001, low evidence quality). Heterogeneity was high across studies.
The study concluded that VR is a promising intervention for reducing anxiety and pain in children during dental procedures, and pain reduction in adults. The authors suggested further research is needed to standardise the VR content and explore its impact across different age groups and dental procedures.
Nezhad H M、Ashourioun A、Sadeghdaghighi A《虚拟现实对牙科焦虑和疼痛的影响：系统评价与荟萃分析》。《社区牙科健康》2024年；41卷：248 - 255页。
截至2024年4月，在PubMed和Cochrane图书馆进行了系统检索。
文章类型限于随机对照试验，比较牙科环境中虚拟现实（VR）干预与非VR方法。选择遵循PRISMA - P指南。使用PICOS框架，纳入了涉及任何年龄牙科患者在牙科治疗期间使用VR并报告焦虑和疼痛结果的研究。
由两名审阅者独立进行数据提取和质量评估，采用推荐分级、评估、制定与评价（GRADE）方法和偏倚风险2（ROB - 2）工具。荟萃分析采用随机效应模型。
总共263项研究最终纳入27项研究，涵盖多种牙科治疗。证据质量从低到中等。对14项研究（957名患者）的荟萃分析显示，VR显著降低了儿童的焦虑（标准化均数差 -1.44，95%置信区间 -2.24至 -0.63，证据质量低）。对5项研究（485名患者）的荟萃分析显示，VR对成人焦虑无影响（标准化均数差 -0.35，95%置信区间 -1.11至0.4，确定性低）。VR在儿童（11项研究，791名参与者）（标准化均数差 -1.11，95%置信区间 -1.65至 -0.57，中等确定性水平）和成人（6项研究，557名参与者）（标准化均数差 -0.59，95%置信区间 -1.187至 -0.001，证据质量低）中均显著降低了疼痛。各研究间异质性高。
该研究得出结论，VR是一种有前景的干预措施，可减少儿童牙科治疗期间的焦虑和疼痛以及成人的疼痛。作者建议需要进一步研究以规范VR内容，并探索其在不同年龄组和牙科治疗中的影响。
