ReviewFrontiers in oral health2026
Effectiveness of virtual reality as a behavioural management method in children during dental visits: a systematic review.
Review in Frontiers in oral health, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Importance: Behaviour management techniques converge on the fundamental aim of facilitating the child´s adaptation by promoting familiarity and gradual desensitisation, thereby reducing stress levels and enhancing cooperation during dental procedures. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the use of virtual reality (VR) as a behavioural management technique to reduce anxiety in paediatric patients during dental treatments. Methods: A research strategy was conducted including articles that have been published in the past 5 years using MeSH Terms in five different databases (PubMed, Scopus, ScienceDirect, EMBASE, and Web of Science). The studies included in the review involved children under 17 years old who used virtual reality to control their anxiety in the dental clinic. Results: The use of VR in paediatric dentistry improved behaviour in children with higher positive responses in VR groups, vs. control groups. The Frankl scale showed significant improvements after the use of VR before treatment. Furthermore, audiovisual distraction with VR was the most effective technique for reducing fear and anxiety in uncooperative children. Interpretation: Virtual reality is an effective technique for managing behaviour and reducing anxiety in paediatric patients during dental treatments, often outperforming conventional techniques. Systematic Review Registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/view/CRD420251015748, PORSPERO CRD420251015748.
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What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.