Effectivity of Binaural Beats in Reduction of Anxiety during Dental Treatment in Pediatric Patients

Abstract

Objectives: Binaural beats comprise two sinusoidal auditory waves with a slight difference in their frequencies. When these beats are presented to a listener, they have psychophysiological effects corresponding to the difference in their frequencies. One such effect is the relaxation achieved when the difference between the two frequencies is present within the theta range (4−7.9 Hz). This concept has been applied in the present study to alleviate anxiety in pediatric patients during dental treatment. Material and Methods: One hundred and twenty pediatric patients of age ranging from 3 to 10 years requiring dental treatment were presented with binaural beats (experimental) and white noise (control) using wireless headphones for 10 min. The patient’s pulse rate (PO1-3) and anxiety levels (V1-3) were measured at three different time points having 5-min intervals by pulse oximeter and Venham’s picture test. Results: The study sample (n = 120) comprised 56 females and 64 males with a mean age of 5.867 years (Standard Deviation = 1.864). There was a statistically highly significant difference seen for the values between the groups (P < 0.01) for PO2, PO3, and VS3 with higher values in control while there was a statistically non-significant difference seen for the values between the groups (P > 0.05) for PO1, VS1, and VS2. Conclusion: Binaural beats were more effective in the reduction of pre- and intraoperative dental anxiety in pediatric patients. Therefore, they can be used satisfactorily as a non-pharmacological and non-invasive behavior management aid. Patient acceptance, efficiency, ease of availability, and feasibility are some of their additional advantages.