Anxiolytic Effects of Pleasant Ambient Fragrances on Patients undergoing Simple Extraction: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Abstract
Objective: To evaluate the effect of aromatherapy against dental anxiety among patients undergoing simple extractions.
Methodology: The present study was a Randomized Controlled Trial of concurrent parallel design with three (03) arms. A total of 90 subjects with age range of 15-45 years requiring simple extractions were included in the study. Participants were randomized into three groups: lavender oil group, rose oil group, and placebo (water) group. Participants' heart rate (HR) and blood pressure (BP) were measured using pulse oximeter and digital sphygmomanometer respectively. A questionnaire comprising Modified Dental Anxiety Scale (MDAS) was administered to the patients to measure their anxiety levels subjectively. All the data were recorded at before local anaesthesia (LA) administration, after LA administration (after 10 minutes) and post extraction stages. Data were analysed using SPSS version 16 (IBM corp, Armork, NY). Inferential statistics was done using non parametric tests.
Results: Intragroup comparison showed statistically significant reduction in mean anxiety score in all the three groups from pre LA administration to post extraction except for pre LA administration to post LA administration stage in Rose oil group. Intergroup comparison of
MDAS scores showed statistically significant differences in post LA administration and post extraction stages. Post extraction anxiety was found to be least in Lavender oil group and maximum in the placebo group.
Conclusion: Both Lavender oil and Rose oil group were found to be effective against dental anxiety among dentally phobic patients but comparatively Lavender oil group showed better results than Rose oil group and placebo group.
Key words: Dental anxiety, Aromatherapy, Lavender oil, Rose oil, Modified Dental Anxiety Scale.
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