Ever felt nervous in the dentist's office? Would some soothing lighting, the sound of birdsong, and a vibrating chair help, do you think? For children, fear of the dentist can be particularly bad, so a group of researchers in Israel have been investigating whether a relaxing environment could make dental treatment less stressful.
The study, published in The Journal of Pediatrics, looked at 35 children between the ages of 6 and 11, around half of whom had some kind of developmental disability. All the children had two sessions of dental treatment, where their teeth were cleaned and polished by a dental hygienist.
One session took place in a room a lot like an ordinary dentist's office, with fluorescent lighting and a bright overhead dental lamp. The other session happened in a room specially designed to be as soothing as possible. There was dim, upward lighting, added to by some decorative, slowly moving colored lights. Instead of an overhead lamp, the dentist wore a head-mounted torch. Children wore a papoose or a heavy vest to give them a comforting, "hugging" feeling. Music and sounds of nature were played, with a bass speaker built into the dentist's chair so it vibrated in time with the music.
I tracked down the company that produced the music used in the experiment. I think I'd prefer a bit of John Coltrane myself, but you can have a listen and see whether birdsong and waterfalls work for you.
The study's results show that the relaxing treatment room did seem to work. On average, healthy children cried or showed signs of distress for three-and-a-half minutes in a normal dentist's office, compared with one-and-a-half minutes in a more soothing environment.
There was an even bigger improvement for the developmentally disabled children. They were distressed for more than 23 minutes in the normal dentist's office, but this fell to nine minutes in the room that was designed to be soothing.
Although it seems obvious that a more comfortable environment would reduce anxiety, there is a theory behind it. The researchers think that children, particularly those with a developmental disability, might struggle to filter out distracting sights and sounds. Adapting the environment to provide gentle stimulation might make it easier for them to cope with strange places.
Your dentist might not be able to provide relaxing lighting and chilled-out music, but most dentists are used to dealing with nervous patients. If your child is very nervous, you might want to look for a dentist who specializes in treating children, or even ask whether you can get home visits for checkups and basic care.
Keeping sugary foods and soft drinks to a minimum, along with regular brushing, can help keep your child's teeth healthy, and cut the chances of needing extra dental treatment.
What you need to know. Dentists sometimes recommend sedative drugs, or even a general anesthetic, for people who are very nervous about treatment. However, these options come with a risk of side effects. The new study suggests that, for children, a soothing environment could offer some help with anxiety without resorting to drugs.
—Philip Wilson, patient editor, BMJ Group
ConsumerReportsHealth.org has partnered with The BMJ Group to monitor the latest medical research and assess the evidence to help you decide which news you should use.
Read more on dental care to prevent disease.
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