Visiting a dentist for many people is a nightmare. Even though modern anesthetics can almost completely relieve people of any unpleasant sensations in the treatment of teeth, many are still afraid to visit dental offices for some reason or another. A team of scientists from the UK conducted an interesting study and came to an interesting conclusion. It turns out that with the helmet of virtual reality and special software you can significantly reduce the fear of dental treatment and even dull the pain.

80 subjects participated in the experiment, divided into three test groups. Each subject was in need of dental treatment. The first two groups of patients were given virtual reality sets, the third group did not get headsets. Inside the virtual reality, subjects traveled along the beach or explored a virtual city. The third group simply looked at the ceiling of the dental office and saw a doctor from the corner of the eye who is engaged in their teeth. All subjects were carefully interviewed immediately after completion of dental procedures. Then they were interviewed again a week later.

People who were in the process of treatment within the virtual reality admitted that they experienced significantly less stress and pain than members of the third control group.

Moreover, it was more comfortable for those subjects who had time on the beach. Virtual city less contributed to reducing stress, rather than the seascape. Scientists were much surprised by the results, so in the very near future they plan to conduct several more similar studies. If the results are repeated, it may well be that in the future in many dental offices there will be VR equipment. The results of the study were published in the journal Environment and Behavior.