Virtual Reality for Hypertension in Tooth Extraction: A Randomized Trial

Tooth extraction is one of the most common causes of dental anxiety and pain, leading to the elevation of blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR). Such effects may be exaggerated and cause life-threatening accidents in patients with hypertension. Therefore, the pain and anxiety management of these patients is imperative. Virtual reality (VR) has been demonstrated to be a distraction method to relieve anxiety and pain in clinical operations. Thus, we hypothesized that VR can control the elevation of BP and HR in patients with hypertension. In this study, 96 eligible patients with controlled hypertension who needed tooth extraction were randomized to the VR or standard care group by stratified randomization of anxiety grade and gender. Their BP and HR were dynamically monitored. The corresponding systolic and diastolic BP and HR values were selected when systolic BP was at the highest point of the process. BP was converted into mean arterial pressure (MAP) for comparison per the following formula: MAP = (systolic BP + 2 × diastolic BP)/3. Statistical analyses were by intention to treat and conducted in SPSS. Nonparametric rank sum tests were used to compare the difference of ΔMAP and ΔHR between the VR and standard care groups. Multivariate linear regression was applied to evaluate the effect of VR on ΔMAP and ΔHR. The results showed that the VR technique significantly decreased the elevation of MAP (P < 0.001) and HR (P < 0.001), and this effect was found even after adjusting for baseline characteristics and additional surgical procedures (ΔMAP, P < 0.001, R² = 0.276; ΔHR, P < 0.001, R² = 0.152). VR did not increase the incidence of adverse events (P = 0.677). In conclusion, the VR technique was effective in controlling BP and HR within an acceptable range and can help manage BP and HR during tooth extraction for patients with hypertension (Chinese Clinical Trial Registry: ChiCTR2100042132).