Qin Z, Zhou C, Zhu Y et al. Virtual Reality for Hypertension in Tooth Extraction: A Randomized Trial. J Dent Res 2021; doi: 10.1177/00220345211049393. Online ahead of print.

VR was effective in controlling BP and HR during tooth extraction for patients with hypertension.

Tooth extraction is one of the most common causes of dental anxiety and pain, leading to the elevation of blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR). Such effects may cause life-threatening accidents in patients with hypertension. Therefore, the pain and anxiety management of these patients is imperative. Virtual reality (VR) has been demonstrated to be a distraction method to relieve anxiety in clinical operations. In this study, 96 eligible patients with controlled hypertension who needed tooth extraction were randomised to the VR or standard care group by stratified randomisation of anxiety grade and gender. Their BP and HR were dynamically monitored. The results showed that the VR technique significantly decreased the elevation of mean arterial pressure and HR, and this effect was found even after adjusting for baseline characteristics and additional surgical procedures. VR did not increase the incidence of adverse events.