Virtual Reality Exposure for Dental Fear

Running, not enrolling · Not applicable

Conditions studied: Dental Fear

In brief

The purpose of this study is to compare an intervention for dental fear to the usual approach (i.e., whatever your dentist typically does to help you manage fear) in reducing patient fear and making dentist appointments more tolerable. The dental fear intervention (called neVR Fear the Dentist™) has two separate steps. Step 1 involves using a mobile app that is based on research-backed approaches to handling dental fear on your smartphone or device. Step 2 is a 1-hour self-administered virtual reality intervention to be completed in the dental office. This is a randomized study. Participants will be randomized to either the intervention group or an active control. Investigators hypothesize that participants in the intervention condition will show greater declines in self-reported dental fear and improved oral health-related quality of life during post-treatment and follow-up period.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT06494176

Run by

New York University

People needed

250

Starts

2024-08-09

Expected to finish

2027-12-01

Last updated by the study team

2026-03-11

Who can join

Age: 13 and older. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.

You may qualify if…

• Be at least 13 years of age
• Report dental fear of 4 or higher on a scale of 0-10 on the Gatchel dental fear item
• Be able and willing to comply with study procedures
• Provide a signed and dated informed consent form
• Proficient in English because the intervention is in English
• Have access to a smartphone or tablet
• If self-referred, have a dental appointment already scheduled with their own dentist.
• If self-referred, live in the NYC metro area or are willing to travel to the NYU College of Dentistry.
• If self-referred, have access to an Oculus headset and live in the U.S.

You may not qualify if…

• Uncorrected, severe, or profound hearing or visual impairment such as stereoscopy blindness or nystagmus
• Diagnosed with any of the following psychiatric conditions: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) due to dental trauma, Major Neurocognitive Disorder (Dementia), Schizophrenia, or Intellectual Disability
• Current diagnosis of a balance disorder, such as vertigo
• Lifetime history of cybersickness
• Previous history of epileptic seizures
• A history of cardiac problems
• Are in pain, require urgent care, or whose necessary treatment will be delayed by participating in the study

Where it is running

• New York University — New York, New York, United States

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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