Non-pharmacological interventions for reducing mental distress in patients undergoing dental procedures: Systematic review and meta-analysis

Non-Pharmacological Interventions for Reducing Anxiety in Patients with Potentially Malignant Oral Disorders

“…Decrease in dental anxiety at the end of the intervention versus baseline anxiety was seen in both the study group and the controls. As a result, the decrease cannot be attributed to the music intervention, in contrast to the observations of other studies [20] and systematic reviews [8], where musical distraction has been found to offer benefits in this regard. One possible explanation for the lack of effect of the music intervention upon dental anxiety may be the fact that most of the patients presented only moderate anxiety at the start of the intervention, with an initial Corah's dental anxiety score of 12, which made it difficult for the anxiety levels to decrease any further.…”

“…A number of options are available for the management of anxiety, including explanation of the treatment process to the patient, medications strategies, biofeedback, hypnosis, and behavioral interventions [4][5][6]. The administration of sedatives and other drugs to lessen patient anxiety before surgery is a common practice, though they often have negative side effects and can prolong patient recovery [6][7][8]. As a result, greater attention currently focuses on the use of non-pharmacological strategies to reduce preoperative anxiety, such as music therapies and interventions.…”

“…As a result, greater attention currently focuses on the use of non-pharmacological strategies to reduce preoperative anxiety, such as music therapies and interventions. Music is believed to lessen anxiety thanks to its relaxing or distracting effects, which in turn reduce the activity of the neuroendocrine and sympathetic nervous systems [8][9][10][11].…”

Are Technology-Based Interventions Effective in Reducing Dental Anxiety in Children and Adults? A Systematic Review

“…Psychological interventions meant to reduce dental anxiety are either administered before or during dental procedures. [20][21][22] These interventions focus on alleviating psychological distress, 23 perceived pain, anticipatory fear and avoidance towards dental treatment. Extant research supports Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) as the gold standard psychological therapy for the treatment of dental anxiety in both children 24,25 and adults.…”

Effect of Virtual Reality During Periodontal Treatment of Patients with Anxiety

“…(3) One of the new techniques of reducing distress is to distract the patient's senses from the environment using various methods and techniques, including music, sound, and image. (4,5) Distraction is based on the principle that each person has a limited attention capacity although when much of this focus is on another stimulus, it is unlikely that the stimulus is undesirable. (6) Virtual reality (VR) technology creates a sense of immersion in a virtual environment analogous to the real world.…”