Dental anxiety helped with relaxation & music distraction.
A trial of 90 patients with dental anxiety compared brief relaxation with music distraction and found both methods helped to reduce anxiety. Brief relaxation was significantly better than music distraction and the researchers concluded “brief relaxation was safe, economically sound and effective as a non-pharmacological approach to managing dental anxiety“.
Lahmann C, Schoen R, Henningsen P, et. al. Brief relaxation versus music distraction in the treatment of dental anxiety: a randomized controlled clinical trial. J Am Dent Assoc 2008 Mar;139(3):317 – 24.
Lai HL, Hwang MJ, Chen CJ, et. al. Randomised controlled trial of music on state anxiety and physiological indices in patients undergoing root canal treatment. J Clin Nurs 2008 Oct;17(19):2654 – 60.