Fear is one of the main obstacles that many patients experience as an obstacle when visiting a dentist or in the process of receiving dental care. It is with this anxiety that people who are seeking a dentist in Poway, CA can at times experience such high levels of anxiety that they do not seek dental health check-ups early enough; this may result in the development of severe dental health complications. In response to this, dental care providers are looking towards emerging strategies such as VR to assist anxious patients feel more comfortable in the dental chair, and have a solution that is both effective and soothing.
How Does Virtual Reality Work in a Dental Setting?
Virtual reality entails the patient wearing a headset and placing himself in a world that has been created in the real world. In a dental treatment context, patients can be made to virtually move from the dental clinic to a beautiful place like the beach, or forest among others. This sensory distraction assists in easing the minds of the patient by getting their attention away from the dental treatment to be performed on them. Because VR involves the sensory cues of sight and sound the patient is greatly distracted and has minimal awareness of pain or any uncomfortable feeling.
Why is Virtual Reality Effective in Reducing Anxiety?
The capability of VR to minimize dental anxiety is not based on the dismissal of a procedure and instead relies on redirecting a patient’s focus. In such a context, the brain of a patient is kept engrossed with the look and feel of a simulation and not the dental instruments and feel. In the process, this creates a natural calming effect, the patient’s heart rate is usually lowered, stress thus reduced and this makes the entire process non-daunting. Furthermore, the VR method is completely non-invasive; such a characteristic serves the interests of both patients and dentists who would like to avoid using sedatives and medications.
How Can Virtual Reality Be Used to Enhance the Financial Side of Dentistry?
From a financial point of view, many benefits can be identified with the insertion of virtual reality within dental practices. First of all, it can also increase the number of patients because after having a good experience patients will be keen on having a check-up with the doctors. It also results in improved overall oral hygiene which can decrease the amount of care commonly required by undertaking more intrusive procedures in later stages. As a result, those patients who feel compromised and feel relaxed are also likely to refer other patients to the practice, meaning that the dental practice will always have a constant stream of new clients—a reason that may help the dental practice to be financially sound.
What are the Prospects Regarding Virtual Reality in Dentistry?
The role of virtual reality for dental patients is promising, and with the continuing development of technologies, could provide even more improvements to dental patients. The probability for the application of the VR technology is to increase over time given that there is increased adoption of the technology in dental practices hence leading to increased financial benefits with the reduction in cost for the technology. Also, the usage of VR can be adjusted to the specific patient’s needs and desires, which provides versatility to the tool, which is potentially useful for all patients.
Conclusion
Virtual reality is emerging as a new approach to managing patient anxiety in dental practices to enhance patient experience. Besides relieving anxiety, VR is also useful for increasing the regularity of checks and other procedures since patients’ discomfort is diminished; the result is beneficial for both, patients and dental service providers, in terms of payment expenses in the long term. The advancement in the technology of 3D printing is still ongoing meaning that it has a promising role in the future of dental care.
