A Comparative Study on Effectiveness of Music Distraction Versus Conventional Behaviour Management Technique in Reducing Anxiety and Stress in Children Aged 6-12 Years

Abstract

Introduction: Dental fear and anxiety are common problems for children visiting the dentist and may impact on the success of dental treatment. Behaviour management techniques without medication have been shown to be effective in decreasing anxiety and stress for children during dental treatments. Owing to the limited availability of proven and conclusive studies, this research was chosen to address the existing research gap. Objective: The aim of this research was to compare the effectiveness of music distractions vs conventional behaviour management (CBM) techniques on reducing anxiety and stress for children under dental treatment. Methods: This project used a comparative study with 50 children aged between 6 to 12 years who were receiving dental treatment at the Paediatric Dentistry Department. The children were placed into one of two groups (Group 1 – Conventional behaviour management, Group 2 - Music Distraction). Anxiety levels were measured using MCDAS and VPT at two points of time-pre and post dental treatment; Pulse rate was assessed as a measure of stress. Both assessments were made prior to the commencement of treatment and again at completion of treatment. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS version 21, utilizing Mann-Whitney U test and chi-square test to evaluate pre and post anxiety levels during dental treatment between the two groups. Results: The results indicate that both groups have substantially lowered their respective pre-operative and postoperative anxiety scores on the MCDAS and VPT instruments after undergoing dental treatment; the mean postoperative anxiety scores on the MCDAS and VPT for patients in Group 1 (Music Distraction Group [MDG1]) were lower p=0.430, than those of Group 2 (Conventional Group [CG]); however the p-values were greater than or equal to 0.05; as such, the findings are not statistically significant. No patients in the MDG1 demonstrated high levels of post-operative anxiety. Conclusions: Music distraction (MD) has been shown to reduce the level of dental anxiety experienced by paediatric patients; however, MD is not statistically superior to other conventional behaviour management techniques. Music distraction can be recommended as an easy to use, safe and effective option for additional behavioural management for paediatric patients in dentistry.