Effects of music on sedation depth and sedative use during pediatric dental procedures

The study aimed to investigate the effects of listening to music or providing sound isolation on the depth of sedation and need for sedatives in pediatric dental patients.

Prospective, randomized, and controlled study.

Tertiary, university hospital.

In total, 180 pediatric patients, American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status I and II, who were scheduled for dental procedures of tooth extraction, filling, amputation, and root treatment.

Patients were categorized into 3 groups: music, isolation, and control. During the procedures, the patients in the music group listened to Vivaldi's The Four Seasons violin concertos by sound-isolating headphones, whereas the patients in the isolation group wore the headphones but did not listen to music. All patients were sedated by 0.1 mg/kg midazolam and 1 mg/kg propofol. During the procedure, an additional 0.5 mg/kg propofol was administered as required.

Bispectral index was used for quantifying the depth of sedation, and total dosage of the propofol was used for sedative requirements. The patients' heart rates, oxygen saturations, and Observer's Assessment of Alertness and Sedation Scale and bispectral index scores, which were monitored during the operation, were similar among the groups. In terms of the amount of propofol used, the groups were similar. Prolonged postoperative recovery cases were found to be significantly frequent in the control group, according to the recovery duration measurements (P = .004).

Listening to music or providing sound isolation during pediatric dental interventions did not alter the sedation level, amount of medication, and hemodynamic variables significantly. This result might be due to the deep sedation levels reached during the procedures. However, listening to music and providing sound isolation might have contributed in shortening the postoperative recovery duration of the patients.