AUTHOR=López-Valverde Nansi , López-Valverde Antonio , Macedo de Sousa Bruno , Blanco Rueda José Antonio 

TITLE=Efficacy of music therapy on stress and anxiety prior to dental treatment: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychiatry

VOLUME=Volume 15 - 2024

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychiatry/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1352817

DOI=10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1352817

ISSN=1664-0640

ABSTRACT=Introduction-Stress and anxiety are emotional states that often accompany patients who have to receive dental treatments, leading them to postpone or avoid treatments with the consequent deterioration of their oral health and, consequently, their general condition. Music therapy has been shown to be an alternative treatment to other invasive and not without danger, such as anxiolytics or sedation. Our systematic review and meta-analysis evaluated the effect of music therapy on anxiety and stress prior to dental treatments. Methods-Studies published in PubMed (through Medline), Web of Science (WOS), Embase and Cochrane Library databases were consulted until October 2023. Inclusion criteria were established for intervention studies (RCTs), according to the PICOs strategy in subjects with dental stress and anxiety (participants), treated with music therapy (intervention) in comparison with patients without music therapy (control) and evaluating the response to treatment (outcomes). Results-A total of 154 results were obtained and finally, 14 studies were selected. The risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool and the methodological quality using the Jadad scale. A randomeffects meta-analysis was used to quantify the results of the pooled studies and a fixed-effects metaanalysis for the studies in the pediatric population. The meta-analysis of pooled studies found statistical significance in the subgroups of anxiety and anxiety-stress (p=0.03 and p=0.05 respectively), with an overall effect in favor of the intervention group (p=0.005). Meta-analysis of the studies in the pediatric population showed a considerable statistical significance for the experimental group (p<0.00001). Conclusions-Music therapy as a treatment for stress and anxiety, prior to dental treatment, proved to be effective in both children and adults, although more well-designed randomized clinical studies are needed to validate its efficacy.