Music intervention on children’s toothache anxiety from the perspective of health humanities
10.12026/j.issn.1001-8565.2026.03.19
- VernacularTitle:健康人文视域下儿童牙疼焦虑症的音乐干预
- Author:
Zhidan SUN
1
;
Jian TANG
1
Author Information
1. School of Medical Humanities， Tianjin Medical University， Tianjin 300070， China
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
music therapy;
children’s toothache anxiety;
patient experience;
health humanities;
non-pharmacological intervention
- From:
Chinese Medical Ethics
2026;39(3):412-417
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
ObjectiveTo systematically evaluate the effectiveness of music therapy in reducing children’s dental anxiety by summarizing relevant literature， and to provide application references for the clinical practice of pediatric dentistry in China. MethodsA systematic literature search was conducted using the Cochrane Library and Medline databases. Clinical trials， systematic reviews， and cohort studies on the effectiveness of music in children’s dental anxiety both domestically and internationally were included. A detailed retrospective analysis of the included literature was conducted to extract relevant evidence and conclusions. ResultsThrough extensive literature screening and quality assessment， multiple studies showed that music therapy could positively influence emotions through biological and psychological mechanisms. In clinical practice， music was confirmed to be an effective auxiliary means that significantly reduced children’s dental anxiety levels. ConclusionMusic therapy can not only effectively alleviate children’s anxiety during medical visits but also improve the effectiveness of diagnosis and treatment， promoting harmonious doctor-patient relationships. Therefore， hospitals should actively explore and implement specific pathways to music therapy， including multiple specific suggestions such as music selection， optimization of playback environment， and interaction strategies with children， with a view to achieving the goals of being people-oriented and pursuing goodness and beauty in medical humanities， and thus achieving the ultimate goal of health humanities.
