Effect of relaxing sounds on anxiety levels in patients undergoing dental extraction: A randomized clinical trial.

Introduction: The study was conducted to observe the effect of using relaxing sounds as a nonpharmacological intervention on anxiety levels and vital signs among patients who underwent extraction.

Materials and methods: A randomized clinical trial was conducted, and patients with an indication of dental extraction, who were physically and mentally healthy, were invited to voluntarily participate in the study. Dental anxiety was assessed by measuring blood pressure, heart rates, and respiratory rates as well as with the help of the Modified Dental Anxiety Scale (MDAS) questionnaire before and after the procedure. Each participant was asked to choose a sound they preferred. All the statistical analyses were performed using SPSS Software version 23, and the statistical significance level was fixed at P ≤ 0.05.

Results: Among the patients who underwent simple extraction, only the respiratory rate showed a statistically significant difference. The mean respiratory rate decreased from 19.24 to 17.59 after simple extraction. Among all the study variables, the MDAS score showed a statistically significant difference between the groups.

Conclusions: The music group reported much less postoperative anxiety than the control group. These findings confirm the notion that the use of music selected by the patient during surgical extraction of an IMTM reduces anxiety substantially.