Effectiveness of aromatherapy in reduction of dental anxiety in pediatric dental patients: A systematic review

In recent years, various researchers have attempted to utilize Aromatherapy for allaying dental anxiety in pediatric patients. The present systematic review aims to comprehend the efficacy of aromatherapy in reducing dental anxiety in pediatric patients, exploring different aromatherapy agents, dispersion methods, and their anxiety-relieving capacities. A systematic search was performed in the following databases: MEDLINE (Ovid), Pubmed, Pubmed Central, Web of Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIEXPANDED), and Google Scholar using the key terms “Aromatherapy” AND “Pediatric” OR “Children” AND “Dental Anxiety” OR “Fear” to identify articles published in the English language without any restriction for the time of publication. A total of nine randomized controlled trials were identified that assessed various essential oils such as lavender, orange, and lemongrass for aromatherapy in pediatric patients during dental treatment. Most of these studies employed aromatherapy using a diffuser during non-pain-promoting dental treatments in children of 6 to 9 years of age. Aromatherapy is an effective non-pharmacological and non-invasive modality for reducing dental anxiety in pediatric patients which is free of adverse effects. However, there's a need for standardized methods of dispersion and clearer guidelines for oil posology