The efficacy of virtual reality in minimizing pain elicited by dental injections is comparable to topical anesthesia with 20% benzocaine.

A study was carried out to explore the analgesic efficacy of virtual reality and topical anesthesia gel during injection of local anesthetic in dental patients, and to find out which approach is preferred by the patients.

This randomized clinical study incorporated 21 adults (age range 22 to 59 years) receiving dental anesthetic injections bilaterally for their maxillary premolars area. With the aid of a within subject design, each participant was given 2 injections during a single visit. After each injection, the intensity of pain was estimated.

Notably, one side of the mouth was injected under topical anesthesia (20% benzocaine) and the other side of the mouth was injected when the participant was in virtual reality (seeing an animated movie). Participants were requested to rate their pain experience with the aid of Wong-Baker Faces Pain-rating Scale (W-BFPS). Participants' preference of delivery system for future injections was also examined. With the help of a finger pulse oximeter, heart rates were recorded before and after the injections to assess the effect of each injection on heart rate.

With virtual reality, the patients described the predicted pattern of a reduced W-PFPS score (less pain intensity) during dental injections when compared to dental injections under topical anesthesia gel. But, the difference was not clinically meaningful. The majority of the adult patients preferred virtual reality when compared to topical anesthesia. No profound differences in heart rate were noted.

Despite the fact that dental patients experienced reduced pain during virtual reality distraction in comparison with topical gel anesthetic, the difference was not clinically meaningful. For their future injections, most people chose virtual reality over topical anesthesia.