Management of dental anxiety in children using robots

Abstract

Anxiety related to dental treatment is a common case in children and causes serious problems. In this study, we proposed a novel technique based on the use of a humanoid robot companion to improve the child's experience in the clinicall environment by minimizing pain and anxiety during a dental procedure. Thus, we designed and developed a human-robot interaction scenario with children in the range of 4-to-10 years old. We presented an experimental setup involving a humanoid robot that enabled a Wizard of Oz experiment. We assessed the performance of the proposed system by using questionnaires applied to patients and dentists, as well as by measuring the pulse rates of the patients.