DOI: 10.4103/jisppd.jisppd_140_26 ISSN: 0970-4388

Psychophysiological responses to professional music therapy during pediatric exodontia: A randomized controlled trial

Balraj Shukla, Anup Panda

Background:

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of familiar or unfamiliar music with different rhythmic patterns on pediatric patients undergoing exodontia.

Materials and Methods:

Eighty-eighty children aged 5–9 years requiring dental extraction were divided into five groups based on the rhythmic pattern and familiarity of the musical interventions Group I (Control), Group II (Familiar-Synchronized), Group III (Familiar-Syncopated), Group IV (Unfamiliar-Synchronized), and Group V (Unfamiliar-Syncopated). During exodontia, a music therapist controlled the auditory input. Calibrated examiners assessed the patients’ behavior, pain, and anxiety using the Houpt scale, the Face, Legs, Activity, Cry, and Consolability scale, and a pulse oximeter, respectively. The recorded data was tabulated and sent for statistical analysis using Python (v3.11) in the Julius Code Sandbox.

Results:

Intergroup comparisons using the Kruskal–Wallis test did not reveal a significant reduction in anxiety ( P > 0.05) and showed a marginally nonsignificant difference in behavior ( P = 0.07). Intragroup comparisons using Wilcoxon signed-rank tests showed a significant decrease in anxiety scores in Groups III ( P = 0.04) and IV ( P = 0.04). Nonparametric testing revealed no significant differences in pain between groups ( P = 0.70). Regression analysis and a goodness-of-fit test revealed that neither age nor gender influenced the patient, regardless of the intervention. Pooled contrasts for a simple linear regression model showed that comparisons among the interventional musical pieces were not clinically significant.

Conclusion:

The rhythmic pattern or the patient’s familiarity with the musical piece influenced the patient’s behavior, anxiety, and pain assessment, but with no clinical significance.

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