Parental anxiety during dental procedures in children under deep sedation: Anxiolysis with lavender oil and orange peel oil aromatherapies

Abstract

Background/Aim: Deep sedation, used for dental treatment of uncooperative pediatric patients, create added anxiety in parents. It is important to reduce the anxiety of the parents for them to understand the post-procedure instructions and overcome the problems that may arise during their implementation, which will affect the recovery process. This study investigates the anxiolytic effects of lavender oil and orange-peel oil aromatherapies on the parents of pediatric patients undergoing dental procedures with deep sedation. Methods: This randomized controlled study includes 90 parents who were randomly divided into three equal groups: Lavender oil (Group L), orange peel oil (Group O), and control groups (Group C). Group L inhaled the diffusion of 0.3 ml lavender oil in 120 ml water, Group O inhaled the diffusion of 0.3 ml of orange peel oil in 120 ml water, and Group C inhaled the diffusion of 120 ml of water. Parents completed the State-Trait Anxiety Index before the children were taken to the treatment room (STAI-1 and STAI-2) and after 1 hour of inhalation (STAI-1A). Results: All three groups involved parents with similar demographic data. Parents in Group L who had children over the age of 5 years had higher anxiety scores after 1 hour of waiting (P=0.044). Also, the STAI-1 scores of unemployed parents in Group C were higher (P=0.021). In Group O, STAI-1A scores were higher than STAI-2 scores (P=0.038). The changes in STAI-1 and STAI-1A scores were similar between the groups (P=0.074). Conclusion: Although no anxiolytic effect was observed, these methods were still considered promising. New research can be conducted with different settings and application regimes.