Researchers from the Universities of Plymouth, Exeter and Birmingham have found that a virtual reality walk on a beach improves patient experiences of common dental procedures such as fillings and extractions. The virtual beach was shown to have better outcomes than a virtual tour of an urban environment, or no virtual input at all.

In a study published last month in the journal Environment and Behavior, a team of researchers at the Universities of Plymouth, Exeter and Birmingham worked with Torrington Dental Practice in Devon to find out whether virtual experiences could improve the dental patient's experience during routine dental procedures, such as fillings and tooth extractions.1

What the patient sees can be viewed here: https://youtu.be/n5kjETt8cZI.

Dr Karin Tanja-Dijkstra, the lead author of the study, said: 'The use of virtual reality in healthcare settings is on the rise but we need more rigorous evidence of whether it actually improves patient experiences. Our research demonstrates that under the right conditions, this technology can be used to help both patients and practitioners'.

The authors of the research stress that the type of virtual reality environment the patient visits is important. The beach experience, Virtual Wembury, was created by Professor Bob Stone and colleagues at the University of Birmingham, and the fact that only patients who visited Wembury, and not the virtual city, had better experiences than standard care is consistent with a growing body of work that shows that natural environments, and marine environments in particular, can help reduce stress and anxiety.

The Torrington Practice dentist involved in the research, Melissa Auvray, agreed: 'The level of positive feedback we got from patients visiting Virtual Wembury was fantastic. Of course, as dentists we do our very best to make the patient feel as comfortable as possible but we are always on the lookout for new ways to improve their experiences'.