Music therapy and aromatherapy on dental anxiety and fear: A randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: Dental anxiety and fear in children are major public health concerns. This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of music therapy combined with aromatherapy, in reducing the children's dental anxiety and fear. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 128 school-age children aged 10–12 years were randomly allocated into 4 groups: a control group with 32 volunteers, an experimental group that received music therapy, with 33 volunteers, an aromatherapy experimental group with 31 volunteers, and 32 volunteers in an experimental group with music therapy combined with aromatherapy. RESULTS: The results found that within-group comparisons before and after the experiment revealed the outcomes with a statistically significant change at the 0.05 level of each group as follows. The control group had increased heart rate. The music therapy group showed decreased dental anxiety and fear and systolic blood pressure. The aromatherapy experimental group exhibited increased oxygen saturation. The experimental group receiving music therapy combined with aromatherapy showed decreased dental anxiety and fear, heart rate, and systolic and diastolic blood pressure as well as increased oxygen saturation values. In addition, it was found that music therapy combined with aromatherapy had a co-influence on dental anxiety and fear (F = 22.22, P < 0.001) and oxygen saturation (F = 17.40, P < 0.001), and the two main treatments also significantly influenced these outcomes at the 0.05 level. CONCLUSION: The results showed that music therapy in combination with aromatherapy reduced children's anxiety and fear of dental services better than a single treatment.