Oral cavity care is very much associated with perceptions of pain and anxiety. Oral health practitioners have many solutions in order to reduce patients' apprehension, and an alternative non-drug technique has increased: the use of virtual reality (VR). The aim of this review is to highlight the contribution of virtual reality headsets in reducing anxiety and pre- and post- operative pain in patients having oral surgery.

PubMed and Cochrane Library have been searched for scientific articles with MESH words «virtual reality », « oral surgery », « anxiety » and « pain ».

8 articles were identified and 6 met the inclusion criteria. Among the 6 articles analyzed, 4 were control trials and 2 were methodological descriptions. 2 clinical trials found statistically significant results on the outcome measures of pre-operative and post-operative anxiety and pain felt.

The use of VR in oral surgery seems to have an impact in reducing anxiety and pre- and post- operative pain, but more studies are needed to confirm its effectiveness.