Background Numerous studies have reported that the use of virtual reality (VR) can reduce patient anxiety and pain during medical care. Although patients may experience pain when their fixed braces are removed, this topic is poorly documented. Methods This article evaluates the impact of a VR system on pain in patients during debonding of their orthodontic metal appliances, through a multicentric observational before-after study that included 66 patients (33 before and 33 after) who removed their metal orthodontic brackets between September 2023 and December 2024, Secondary objectives were to identify the possible association between patient age, sex, clinician and pain. We compared demographic data with the Chi2 and Student’s t-test (sex and age), anxiety before debonding, and pain scores on a ten-point scale (general and dental zones). A multivariate analysis was performed for the total pain score at a constant anxiety score. Results The median pain score and extreme values were equal or lower in the VR group for all dental zones without significant differences. When adding the zone scores, the median total pain score was also lower: NoVR = 12 (6–21); VR = 10 (3–15). The VR device reduced the total pain score (addition of all dental zones) by an average of 6.2 points (on a total of 60 points), at constant anxiety ( P = 0.0048).
Bouhlal et al. (Wed,) studied this question.