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If you're one of the millions of people who
fears going to the dentist - then good news!
Science has a cure, and it's not drugs - it's
virtual reality.
Hey guys, Tara here for Dnews - and I might
be one of the only people on the planet who
actually enjoys going to the dentist.
It's like a tiny massage for your teeth.
But I understand that's weird, and if you're
one of those people who HATES going to the
dentist - then you're in luck!
A new study in the journal CYBERPSYCHOLOGY,
BEHAVIOR, AND SOCIAL NETWORKING finds that
virtual reality may be the key to minimizing
pain and anxiety when it comes to dental procedures.
This isn't the first research of its kind
- in fact, many studies have shown that virtual
reality can help manage pain with all kinds
of procedures, like chemotherapy, physical
therapy, and burn wound changes.
Still, painkillers continue to be the first-line
solution for managing dental pain, but they're
not always effective.
Pain perception is known to have a strong
psychological component, which is why a person
needs to be conscious in order to feel pain.
The idea behind virtual reality - is that
by distracting the patient and re-focusing
their thoughts, there's less attention available
to focus on the pain.
For this study, they recruited 5 adult patients
undergoing routine dental procedures, and
asked them to fill out a questionnaire - both
before and after their treatment - to assess
their levels of anxiety and fear.
Each patient was also hooked up to a biofeedback
device, which measured certain physiological
aspects, like heart rate and breathing rate.
When it came time for the dental procedure,
doctors performed the first 5 minutes as normal,
and then the next 5 minutes, they had patients
hooked up to a virtual reality device.
Not an Oculus Rift, since that requires a
lot of head movement - but a similar device,
where patients could navigate through relaxing
nature worlds, like beaches and forests and
mountains.
Researchers found that not only does the distraction
of VR help alleviate pain - it also reduces
anxiety surrounding dental procedures.
But it's not just the distraction factor that
makes it work.
Other studies have tried seeing if watching
a movie can help minimize pain during dental
procedures - but it was found to be only slightly
more effective than no distractions at all.
Certainly not enough to be significant, and
still nowhere near as effective as virtual
reality.(2) So clearly, the key is a combination
of distraction and immersion.
The authors of this study say that once newer,
better, and more immersive virtual reality
worlds are built - they could reduce a patient's
pain, down to almost nothing.
Very cool.
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And in the meantime, if you have any questions,
comments, anything you wanna say about this
episode - leave em in the comments below.
Otherwise, thanks for watching!
