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

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

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.

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.

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.