A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial Comparing Eye Movement Desensitization and Binaural Beats For Anxiety Management in Pediatric Dental Patients
Keywords:
Pediatric dentistry; Dental anxiety; Binaural beats; Eye movement desensitization; Behaviour guidance; Primary tooth extraction; Randomized controlled trial.Abstract
Background: Dental anxiety is a major barrier to successful pediatric dental treatment. Although Eye Movement Desensitization (EMD) and binaural beats have individually demonstrated anxiolytic benefits, no randomized clinical trial has directly compared their effectiveness during pediatric dental extractions.
Aim: To compare the effectiveness of Eye Movement Desensitization and binaural beats in reducing anxiety among children undergoing primary tooth extraction under local anesthesia.
Methods: Fifty healthy children aged 8–13 years requiring primary tooth extraction were randomly allocated to either an EMD group (n=25) or a binaural beats group (n=25). Participants received a 5-minute intervention immediately before treatment. Anxiety was assessed using the Facial Image Scale (FIS), physiological stress was measured by pulse rate, and behaviour was evaluated using the Frankl Behaviour Rating Scale (FBRS). Measurements were recorded at baseline, post-intervention, post-local anesthesia administration, and post-extraction. Data were analyzed using non-parametric statistical tests with a significance level of p<0.05.
Results: Both interventions significantly reduced anxiety from baseline (p<0.001). The binaural beats group demonstrated significantly lower FIS scores than the EMD group immediately after the intervention (median 1 vs. 2; p=0.004) and after extraction (median 1 vs. 2; p=0.012). Pulse rate was significantly lower in the binaural beats group after extraction (92.60±8.97 vs. 100.08±12.30 bpm; p=0.020), indicating faster physiological recovery. No significant differences were observed between groups in pulse rate at earlier time points or in behavioural cooperation, with both groups achieving comparable FBRS scores (p=0.094).
Conclusions: Both Eye Movement Desensitization and binaural beats are effective non-pharmacological behaviour guidance techniques for reducing dental anxiety in children undergoing primary tooth extraction. However, binaural beats provided superior anxiety reduction and faster physiological recovery, suggesting that it may be the preferred adjunctive intervention for managing pediatric dental anxiety in routine clinical practice.
