Effect of Music Distraction in Managing Anxious Paediatric Dental Patients- A Review

摘要

Dental anxiety is one of the most commonly encountered problems seen in the dental clinic.Anxiety begins at a very young age, if not addressed at that point; it will result in more drastic consequences.As a dental clinician, there are various methods of behaviour management; one of them is music therapy.Music has always been one of the most commonly used methods to relieve anxiety.A lilting melody from a mother calms down the child in a few minutes.So, this review was performed to know the effect of music distraction in management of anxious dental patients.Music therapy is one of the most efficient forms of non-invasive therapy as the equipment used are musical instrument headsets, audio player among others.Various studies have shown that audio distraction causes a noticeable reduction in the anxiety level of the patient.While it may not have reduced the amount of pain the patient undergoes, it has been recorded that the music therapy shows a positive response in patients.Hence, music distraction proves to be an effective behaviour management tool in children during dental procedures and thus, instils a positive dental attitude.