Investigating the Effect of Meditation on the Level of Anxiety And Pain in Patients Undergoing Implant Surgery Along With Bone Grafting

Abstract

Background and Purpose: Anxiety is one of the primary reasons for people's avoidance of visiting the dentist. It reduces oral and dental hygiene and the quality of life in the long term. Also, anxiety in clients and its repetition in examining patients affects the efficiency of dentists. Several studies have been conducted on the effect of music on the level of pain and anxiety of patients undergoing implant surgery. This study investigates the effects of meditation and music therapy on the mentioned criteria.

Materials and Methods: 28 patients who needed tooth replacement with implants using bone grafting with guided bone regeneration (GBR) were randomly divided into two groups. The first group was exposed to meditation techniques and listening to alpha music for half an hour before and during surgery. The second group was the control group which did not receive any of the mentioned techniques. Pain level was measured by the VAS scale after surgery and anxiety was measured by the Spielberger questionnaire before and after surgery. Systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, heart rate, and blood oxygen level were also measured before and after surgery. U-Man-Whitney analysis was used to compare the level of pain between the two groups. ANOVA analysis of covariance was used to compare the level of anxiety between the two groups (P value < 0.005).

Results: Comparing the pain level between the groups indicated that the perception of pain significantly decreases after meditation (P value < 0.005). Also, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and heart rate were significantly lower in the intervention group than in the control group (P value < 0.005). However, there was no significant difference between the two groups in the blood oxygen level (P value = 0.193).

Conclusion: Meditation before performing complex implant surgery and listening to alpha music during surgery help to reduce the level of anxiety and pain perception. Also, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and heart rate decrease following meditation.