Visit to the dentist office just got easier with the help of video games
A Quebec company is trying to make it easier for children to go to the dentist by using video games to distract them from the stress.
Jacob Abbruzzese, 10, was one of those using a virtual reality headset to keep his mind off the procedure and said it was one of the only times he was allowed to play as many video games as he wanted.
"My dad and my mom they don't really want me to go too much on it because it's going to fry my brain," he said.
With the headset on, children can somewhat forget about what the doctor is doing.
"That's where there's so much stuff on the wall so you're distracted from all the instruments because it does look like torture stuff," said dentist Dr. Elise Morency. "As soon as you put something that pushes away the tongue, which we need to do, it makes them gag right away. With the helmet, they start opening their mouth without me asking."
Morency has found the games are especially useful with autistic patients, where a visit to the dentist could mean sensory overload.
"We get in people's bubble a lot as a dentist," she said. "Just physically you're really close. The odours, the looks, everything is overstimulated. Even just leaning backwards and having someone come over here it's very intimidating. The autistic patients will react a lot to that. It keeps the visual and the auditive so intense that I can lessen the effect of the other things that I do."
The headsets were used during the COVID-19 vaccination campaign for kids who were nervous about getting a shot.
Starting next year, they will be studied at Sainte-Justine Hospital during dental work on neurodiverse patients.
"You're looking at sometimes very extensive procedures that can be very long and painful, so what we want to look at is the decrease in anxiety, pain, how easy it is to perform the procedure," said Jean-Simon FOrtin of Paperline Therapeutics.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Chants of 'shame on you' greet guests arriving for the annual White House correspondents' dinner
An election-year roast of U.S. President Joe Biden before journalists, celebrities and politicians at the annual White House correspondents' dinner Saturday.
What is a 'halal mortgage'? Does it make housing more accessible?
The 2024 federal budget announced on April 16 included plans to introduce “halal mortgages” as a way to increase access to home ownership.
Here's where Canadians are living abroad: report
A recent report sheds light on Canadians living abroad--estimated at around four million people in 2016—and the public policies that impact them.
Deadly six-vehicle crash on Highway 400 sparked by road rage incident
One person was killed in a six-vehicle crash on Highway 400 in Innisfil Friday evening.
Opinion I just don't get Taylor Swift
It's one thing to say you like Taylor Swift and her music, but don't blame CNN's AJ Willingham's when she says she just 'doesn't get' the global phenomenon.
Invasive and toxic hammerhead worms make themselves at home in Ontario
Ontario is now home to an invasive and toxic worm species that can grow up to three feet long and can be dangerous to small animals and pets.
Harvey Weinstein hospitalized after return to New York from upstate prison
Harvey Weinstein’s lawyer said Saturday that the onetime movie mogul has been hospitalized for a battery of tests after his return to New York City following an appeals court ruling nullifying his 2020 rape conviction.
'We are declaring our readiness': No decision made yet as Poland declares it's ready to host nuclear weapons
Polish President Andrzej Duda says while no decision has been made around whether Poland will host nuclear weapons as part of an expansion of the NATO alliance’s nuclear sharing program, his country is willing and prepared to do so.
Central Alberta queer groups react to request from Red Deer-South to reinstate Jennifer Johnson to UCP caucus
A number of LGBQT+2s groups in Central Alberta are pushing back against a request from the Red Deer South UCP constituency to reinstate MLA Jennifer Johnson into the UCP caucus.