Music therapy as a tool for anxiety modulation in first-year dental students: A dose-effect study

Abstract

This study aims to investigate whether there is a dose- effect relationship between music intervention and anxiety reduction in first-year dental students. We hypothesized that more frequent sessions of music concerts would result in a larger and longer lasting anxiety reduction outcome. To test our hypothesis, we invited first-year dental students to attend five live string-quartet music concerts over two consecutive academic terms. We assessed anxiety levels (STAI-6) and the students’ music concert perceived experience. Our results demonstrated that first-year dental student posed the highest anxiety levels before the series of concerts initiated. There was an overall significant reduction in anxiety levels, which plateaued over time. Dental students exhibited a strong positive perception of the live music concerts experience and wanted to have the music concert experience more often. We conclude that music concerts are a feasible tool to reduce anxiety in dental students particularly for female dental students.