Almugait M, AbuMostafa A. Comparison between the analgesic effectiveness and patients' preference for virtual reality vs. topical anesthesia gel during the administration of local anesthesia in adult dental patients: a randomized clinical study. Sci Rep 2021; 11: 23608.

A significant majority preferred virtual reality to topical anaesthesia.

This study compared the analgesic effectiveness of virtual reality vs topical anaesthesia gel during the administration of local anaesthesia. Twenty-one adult patients received dental anaesthetic injections in the maxillary premolar area. Each patient received two injections during a single dental visit. One side of the mouth was injected under the influence of the topical anaesthesia (TA) 20% benzocaine. The other side of the mouth was injected when the patient was in virtual reality (VR) watching an animated movie. Immediately after each injection, the patients rated their pain experience and chose which delivery system they preferred. Heart rates were recorded prior to and after the injections. Participants reported a lower pain intensity during needle injection while in VR than the injection with topical anaesthesia gel; however, the difference was not statistically significant. A statistically significant majority of the participants preferred VR to TA. No statistically significant difference heart rate was found. Although dental patients reported less pain during VR distraction vs topical gel anaesthetic, the difference was not significant.