Brianna Lowe

Project Summary

A VR- and tablet-based immersive simulation, Gentle Dental was co-developed with Holland Bloorview to reduce anxiety and improve outcomes during pediatric dental visits. This evidence-based tool allows children to explore dental settings, tools, and procedures interactively—building familiarity and resilience before the real thing.

Duration: 2019 - 2021

My Role:

In addition to leading product strategy and immersive experience development, I collaborated closely with families, neurodivergent children, and clinical content experts to shape the script’s structure, tone, and pacing. Through iterative testing and caregiver interviews, I ensured that each scene aligned with therapeutic goals while remaining accessible and engaging for our target users. I also worked with the director and cast during the 360° video shoot, guiding on-set interactions to match clinical intent and maintain authenticity. Throughout the project, I acted as a central liaison between clinicians, production crew, researchers, and developers, ensuring alignment across all teams from concept through capture to final deployment.  

My Deliverables

• Led product strategy and immersive experience development
• Collaborated with dental professionals and clinical researchers to design scripts
• Coordinated script development, scenario design, and 360° video capture
• Oversaw stakeholder alignment, user testing, and technical documentation
• Contributed to clinical trial planning and clinical ethics documentation

Tools:

• Adobe XD
• Adobe Illustrator
• Adobe Photoshop
• Teamwork (Project Management Software)
• Microsoft Teams

Business Goal

  To develop an evidence-based, immersive preparation tool that supports neurodiverse children before dental appointments—empowering them to manage anxiety and build confidence—while equipping dental professionals with a standardized, clinically informed resource to improve care delivery both at home and in the clinic.  

  Planning & Concept Development

• Leverage Past Learnings: Built on the success of Busy Bus, applying human-centered design principles and lessons learned about pacing, scenario realism, and caregiver involvement.
• Stakeholder Engagement: Conducted early interviews with dental professionals, autism researchers, and family caregivers to identify emotional pain points and real-world stressors (e.g., unfamiliar tools, loud sounds, unexpected staff changes).
• Experience Blueprinting: Defined the clinical goals and child empowerment principles the experience needed to meet—familiarity, control, repeatability, and anxiety reduction.
• Experience Modality Planning: Outlined delivery methods for both tablet and VR use, with optional Wellwave dashboard integration for clinician-guided sessions.

  Script Development & Scene Design

• Modular Script Writing: Crafted flexible, modular scene sequences that aligned with a typical dental visit—ensuring each module could be paused, skipped, or replayed based on child readiness.
• Therapist-Reviewed Content: Partnered with clinicians to ensure that language, tone, and interactions reflected real-world protocols and supported therapeutic goals.
• Emotional Regulation Tools: Integrated interactive pause points and the Emotion Scale to give children agency to express discomfort and regulate stress.
• Scenarios of Increasing Complexity: Designed progressive exposure through five core experiences, from simple meet-and-greets to panoramic X-rays and environmental interruptions.
• Stakeholder Feedback Loops: Scripts underwent multiple review cycles with caregivers, children, dentists, and clinical researchers to validate tone, order, and pacing.

  Prototyping, Direction, & 360° Filming

• Low-Fidelity Storyboards: Developed annotated wireframes and visual storyboards for all scripted scenes, mapping interactions, hotspot locations, and audio cues.
• Casting & Direction: Worked with pediatric-trained actors and clinical advisors to ensure authentic delivery. Directed the on-site filming alongside the director to maintain script fidelity and emotional sensitivity.
• Cross-Team Liaising: Coordinated real-time feedback across the production team, clinicians, and Wellwave technical leads to ensure all filmed content supported both UX and clinical objectives.
• 360° Capture Logistics: Managed the on-set production plan, including call sheets, cast scheduling, and adjustments for sensory-friendly visuals and transitions.
• Interactive Layering: Post-filming, worked with dev teams to layer hotspot logic, emotion scale triggers, and pause mechanics into the VR and tablet experiences.

  Testing, Feedback, & Iteration

• Internal QA Testing: Reviewed early builds to identify usability issues, interaction bugs, and content mismatches with script intent.
• Caregiver and Child Feedback: Conducted informal sessions with families to observe responses to scenes, evaluate clarity, and gauge emotional comfort levels.
• Iteration Based on Observations: Refined transitions, adjusted narration timing, and re-scripted sections based on participant behavior (e.g., skipping or avoiding certain scenes).
• Preparation for RCT Deployment: Finalized the experience for clinical trial testing, ensuring all sequences were consistent across delivery modes and aligned with study protocols.

Clinical Trial Highlights

Conducted at Holland Bloorview Dental Office, this randomized controlled trial (RCT) evaluated the effectiveness of Gentle Dental's VR-based preparation tool compared to traditional social stories for autistic children ages 4–12.

• Study Sample: 146 participants; 130 completed the trial (mean age: 7.0 years; 86% non-white participants)
• Intervention Groups: VR-based Gentle Dental 360° video vs. traditional static social story
• Key Findings:
  • Visit Completion: No statistically significant difference between groups, indicating both tools supported clinical compliance
  • Behavioural Outcomes: The VR group showed a trend toward more positive behaviour during dental visits (Frankl score, p = 0.072)
  • Parent Satisfaction: Significantly higher satisfaction among caregivers in the VR group (p = 0.006)
• Conclusion: While both tools were comparable in core outcomes, VR showed potential behavioural benefits and strong caregiver endorsement—suggesting high value and usability in clinical settings
• Trial ID: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05196230

Challenges Faced

• Balancing Clinical Authenticity with Child-Friendly Design:
  Crafting a script that was both accurate to real dental procedures and emotionally approachable for children required extensive collaboration with clinicians and families. This led to multiple script revisions, which extended the initial design timeline but ultimately ensured therapeutic integrity.
• COVID-19 Delays in Production:
  The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted our production schedule. Filming the 360° video was postponed multiple times due to health restrictions in Ontario, including limits on group sizes and access to hospital facilities. We resumed only when Holland Bloorview authorized on-site activity at their dental clinic.
• Hardware Limitations and Platform Divergence:
  While VR was envisioned as the primary delivery method for its immersive potential, the high cost of headsets and clinical teams' preference for tablets led to a shift in focus. This divergence required parallel development across both platforms, adding unexpected complexity to technical planning and resource allocation. 

Next Steps