Effect of Lemongrass Essential Oil as Aromatherapy Agent on Dental Anxiety in Children: A Cross-sectional Study

Abstract

Introduction: Managing dental anxiety in children is one of the most difficult tasks for pediatric dental practitioners. Pure essence of essential oils has been shown to be useful in reducing dental anxiety in adults; this study is an attempt to see their effects on children. Aim: To explore the effect of lemongrass oil in reducing dental anxiety in children. Materials and methods: A total of 40 children, aged 8-11 years, attending for their first dental visit, were randomly divided into two groups. This comprised of control and experimental groups conditioned to exposure using a candle warmer with normal water and with lemongrass oil, respectively. Psychometric and objective assessment of anxiety was done using the "Venham's picture test" and "pulse oximeter" for both the groups. The pre-and postexposure scores were tabulated and the obtained data were analyzed using the paired t test and analysis of variance (ANOVA). Results: The postexposure mean scores of Venham's picture scale (VPS) and pulse rate were lower in the experimental group. This shows that the lemongrass oil produced significant reduction in anxiety among the subjects. Conclusion: Aromatherapy using lemongrass oil can be recommended in routine pediatric dentistry practice as an effective means of reducing dental anxiety in children.