Dentist Embraces Virtual Reality – WFMYNews2.com

Easing dental worries with virtual reality

Chris Hrapsky and KARE , KARE 3:59 PM. EST March 12, 2017

Imagine being on a beach...during a root canal. One Twin Cities dentist is embracing the possibility. (Photo: KARE 11)

WAYZATA, Minn. Hattie Martinson is lying back, paper apron on and a drill buzzing away at her tooth.

The Lake Minnetonka Dental employee is doubling as a test patient. She's getting a routine filling, but she's doing it on a beach in New Zealand.

Im on a beach and theres some little boys and theyre running around in their wetsuits surfing away, said Martinson.

She is one of the first patients to test virtual reality as a way to ease pain and anxiety in the dental chair.

Traditionally, there have only been a few ways to curb these problems: local anesthetics, nitrous oxide, or general anesthesia.

Dr. Bryan Laskin of Lake Minnetonka Dental is trying out the new option after listening to a virtual realityconference and studying its correlation to pain management.

I like to think of virtual reality like digital nitrous, said Laskin. I think that VR in health care is going to take a different path than in the entertainment and gaming industry and I think we are the right people to chart that path.

There is already abundant research showing how virtual reality can help in health care. One study shows it can enhance therapy for patients with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Other studies claim virtual realityreduced the amount of pain burn victims experienced during treatments by up to 50 percent, and also reduced the amount of pain surgery patients felt compared to a control group.

There's all the academic research but sometimes someone's face is all you need to see to understand that this has an impact and really impacts your brain, said Chuck Olsen, CEO of Visual, a virtual realityapp and 360 video company.

Laskin says the virtual realityheadsets will be available for patients in about a month, and there is no added cost associated with it for the patient.

2017 KARE-TV

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Dentist Embraces Virtual Reality - WFMYNews2.com