Effectiveness of immersive technologies in oral health promotion and education: A systematic review

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness of immersive technologies in oral health promotion and education.

METHODS: An extensive literature review was conducted using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) method. This study was systematically performed in six electronic databases (PubMed, Google Scholar, Web of Science, Cochrane, Scopus, and EBSCO). The risk of bias was assessed with the Cochrane tools using RoB 2.0 and ROBINS-I.

RESULTS: PICOS criteria were formulated for study inclusion. The bibliographical search identified 10,074 articles, which were filtered subsequently. Finally, the most pertinent nine articles were included and scrutinized for data synthesis and analysis. This includes five randomized controlled trials and four non-randomized controlled trials in different countries that focused on children (33.3%), adolescents (11.1%), and adults (55.6%). The interventions used virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) to promote knowledge and attitudes towards oral care, improve toothbrushing performance, and smoking cessation, and reduce anxiety levels in oral health education.

CONCLUSION: This systematic review demonstrates that immersive technologies, including VR and AR, significantly enhance oral health knowledge, attitudes, and self-efficacy, leading to improved health outcomes.

CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Immersive technologies such as VR and AR have the potential to provide innovative and effective methods for enhancing oral health promotion and education, while promoting positive health behaviours, which are crucial for improving overall oral health outcomes.