Document Type : Original Articles

Abstract

Introduction: Dental environment is always a stressful place for most patients because of factors such as fear of anesthetic injection and a history of past painful dental treatments. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of music on pain perception, anxiety and blood pressure in patients referring to a private dental clinic for root canal treatment. Materials and Methods: In this clinical trial 60 patients referring to a dental clinic for endodontic treatment were evaluated. The subjects were randomly and equally assigned to the music intervention and the control groups. Subjects in the music group listened to their favorite music throughout the root canal treatment but the control group subjects did not. The subjects’ pain, heart rates and blood pressures, and anxiety levels were measured before the study, after anesthesia, during and at the end of the root canal treatment procedure by linear VAS, a digital blood pressure monitor, and Spielberger’s State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, respectively. Data was analyzed by t-test (α = 0.05). Results: The results revealed no significant differences between the two groups in systolic and diastolic blood pressures after the procedure; however, there were significant differences between the two groups during the procedure (systolic, p value = 0.013; diastolic, p value = 0.002). There were no significant differences in anxiety levels, heart rates and pain perception between the two groups (p value > 0.05). Conclusion: In this study music had no effect on reducing patients’ anxiety levels; however, it had a significant effect on systolic and diastolic blood pressures during treatment.  In addition, music had no effect on pain resulting from root canal treatment and also on heart rate. It appears music is effective in preventing blood pressure changes during root canal treatment.   Key words: Anxiety, Music, Pain, Root canal treatment