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

Luai AF 1 , Malek AA 2 , Hassan EH 3 , Sabri BAM 4 , Radzi NAM 5

Affiliations 

  • 1 Centre of Population Oral Health and Clinical Prevention Studies, Faculty of Dentistry, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Sungai Buloh, Selangor, Malaysia; Dental Public Health Unit, Department of Family Oral Health, Faculty of Dentistry, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Electronic address: dramirulfaiz@ukm.edu.my
  • 2 Centre of Population Oral Health and Clinical Prevention Studies, Faculty of Dentistry, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Sungai Buloh, Selangor, Malaysia; Training Management Division, Oral Health Programme, Ministry of Health, Putrajaya, Malaysia. Electronic address: azizi.malek@moh.gov.my
  • 3 Centre of Preclinical Science Studies, Faculty of Dentistry, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Sungai Buloh, Selangor, Malaysia. Electronic address: eddyhasrul@uitm.edu.my
  • 4 Centre of Population Oral Health and Clinical Prevention Studies, Faculty of Dentistry, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Sungai Buloh, Selangor, Malaysia. Electronic address: budiaslinie@uitm.edu.my
  • 5 Centre of Population Oral Health and Clinical Prevention Studies, Faculty of Dentistry, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Sungai Buloh, Selangor, Malaysia. Electronic address: nawwal@uitm.edu.my
J Dent, 2024 Aug 25;150:105324.
PMID: 39191319 DOI: 10.1016/j.jdent.2024.105324

Abstract

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.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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