A Nonpharmacological Method in Managing Dental Anxiety and Pain; Aromatherapy

Abstract

Aromatherapy is the use of essential oils obtained from plants for physical and psychological healing according to their therapeutic properties that vary depending on their chemical content. Aromatherapy has a long history and is easy to apply, cost-effective and has almost no side effects. Aromatherapy can be applied by oral absorption, massage and inhalation. When essential oils are inhaled, the receptors in the nose convert the odours into electrical impulses and create electrochemical messages. These messages are transmitted to the limbic system via the olfactory pathway. By sending signals from the olfactory system to the brain via the hypothalamus, neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine are released. As a result, essential oils have analgesic and anxiolytic effects, regulating depression and anxiety. In order to benefit from the anxiolytic and analgesic effects of aromatherapy, its use as a complementary treatment in the field of medicine has become widespread today. The use of aromatherapy, which is often preferred as an alternative method in the management of anxiety and pain in the field of medicine, has increased in recent years in the management of dental anxiety in dentistry. Dental anxiety has been defined as an abnormal fear or worry about dental treatments and its prevalence in paediatric patients varies between 5-20%. Various pharmacological and nonpharmacological behavioural guidance techniques have been introduced to the literature in order to manage dental anxiety. Aromatherapy, one of the current non-pharmacological approaches in the management of dental anxiety, can also be used in pain control in anxious patients. In this literature review, aromatherapy, which is a subheading of phytotherapy, was examined and its use in anxiety management in dentistry was evaluated. © 2023, Selcuk University. All rights reserved.