Objective: To assess the impact of virtual reality (VR) glasses on pain perception and heart rate during inferior
alveolar nerve block in pediatric patients.
Methods: This quasi-experimental investigation was conducted at a dental hospital (University College of
Dentistry), Lahore, Pakistan from June to February 2022. The study included healthy children aged four to twelve
years who needed dental treatment involving an inferior alveolar nerve block. The distraction was done using VR
glasses. Participants were arbitrarily divided into two groups, one with VR and the other without VR. The
patients' behavior was recorded during the nerve block using the face, legs, activity, cry, and consolability
(FLACC) behavioral pain assessment scale. The Pulse rate was monitored before, during, and after the procedure.
Results:Of the total 68 participants, the median age was 8 (7 – 9) years. There were 36 (52.9%) patients in the nonVR group and 32 (47.1%) patients in the VR group. The median FLAACC score was found to be significantly lower in
the VR group as compared to the non-VR group i.e., 1.0 (1.0 - 2.0) vs. 5.0 (4.0 - 5.0) (p-value <0.001) respectively.
Both groups showed significant median differences in face (p-value 0.008), legs (p-value <0.001), activity (p-value
<0.001), crying (p-value <0.001), and consolability (p-value <0.001) scores. During treatment, the heart rate of VR
participants was found to be significantly lower than the non-VR group i.e., 93.0 (90.0 – 96.0) vs. 100.0 (87.7 –
104.0) (p-value 0.044) respectively.
Conclusion: The study revealed that the use of VR goggles as a distraction method demonstrated a significant
reduction in pain perception and heart rate
