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arXiv · 2609.15867

On Edge in the Dental Chair: Designing VR Support for Moments of Dental Anxiety

Zhu Guo·Junjie Zhao·Haofan He·Jiaming Zhang·Mingshi Deng·Mingjun Zhou·Dongyijie Primo Pan·Zikun Jin·Jianquan Li·Liangyi Chen·Zuolin Jin·Benyou Wang·Jie Li·Siying Hu·Shan Jiang·Junwen Wang
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Abstract

Dental anxiety can change as a procedure unfolds, yet dental virtual reality (VR) commonly provides continuous distraction or relaxation. We investigate how support can be coordinated with specific simulated dental events. Stakeholder interviews (N=36), participatory design with three returning dentists, and patient walkthroughs of a no-intervention prototype (N=12) informed five Anxiety Events and an intervention-module framework. Drawing on cognitive vulnerability and emotion regulation, we implemented a standardized event-contingent VR system with predefined event-module assignments and shared agency and safety controls. A randomized study (N=24) compared the intervention package with no-intervention VR. The adjusted intervention-minus-control difference averaged -12.83 VAS-A points across events (95% CI [-24.42, -1.70]). Physiological, behavioural, and qualitative measures contextualized participants' experiences. The findings inform timely, comprehensible support and reassuring social presence in simulated dental VR; they concern the complete package rather than individual modules or clinical effectiveness.

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Zhu Guo, Junjie Zhao, Haofan He, Jiaming Zhang, Mingshi Deng, Mingjun Zhou, Dongyijie Primo Pan, Zikun Jin, Jianquan Li, Liangyi Chen, Zuolin Jin, Benyou Wang, Jie Li, Siying Hu, Shan Jiang, Junwen Wang. 2026-09-14. On Edge in the Dental Chair: Designing VR Support for Moments of Dental Anxiety. https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.15867

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