Music approaches reduced dental anxiety more than Tell-Show-Do in orphanage children
Children in Indian orphanages reported greater reductions in dental anxiety with musical drama or headphone music than with Tell-Show-Do. The trial did not establish a difference between the music approaches.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
Both music approaches produced larger reductions in questionnaire-measured dental anxiety than Tell-Show-Do in this specific group of children. Anxiety also decreased within the Tell-Show-Do group. There was no statistically significant difference between musical drama and music listening, which leaves their relative effects uncertain rather than proving that they work equally well.
The abstract does not report later dental visits, questionnaire score ranges or the meaning of the variability values accompanying score changes. Findings from orphanage children undergoing scaling may not apply to other dental settings.
What researchers found
Child dental-anxiety questionnaire
Musical drama and headphone listening each outperformed Tell-Show-Do in before-and-after assessments at one scaling appointment; their difference from each other was not statistically significant.
What changed
Researchers used a child dental-anxiety questionnaire before and after the intervention. The result concerns reported anxiety around the appointment, rather than dental health, treatment quality or whether children would feel less anxious at a future visit.
Comparing the music approaches
The analysis detected differences between each music group and Tell-Show-Do, but did not detect a difference between the music groups. That supports the reported comparison with Tell-Show-Do while leaving the choice between music approaches unresolved.
The original publication
Effectiveness of Musical Drama, Music Listening, and Tell-Show-Do Techniques on Reducing Dental Anxiety Among Orphaned Children Aged 12-15 Years-A Randomized Controlled Trial.
Kuppusamy K, Khawsar J, Divvi A et al.
Spec Care Dentist · 2025
- PubMed ID
- 40726016
- Record checked
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