Perhaps you’ve heard the expression quoted above. Better still, if you’re from a certain generation, you may have seen the Bugs Bunny Hour on a Sunday night and watched with delight as the perpetually angry Tasmanian Devil was calmed by the smooth stroking of a violin’s strings. It was of course meant to make us laugh but the reality is, there is some truth to the calming effects of music and today we look at music as one possible coping strategy for when you must have extensive dental work done.
With the proliferation of musical devices, MP3 players and even phones that can store the equivalent of a radio stations worth of music, it is no longer uncommon to see people of all walks of life, strolling down the street, walking to a beat only they can hear. If music helps us get through our day, keeps us motivated while we work and encourages us to dance the night away when enjoying a night out on the town, why couldn’t it also serve a purpose as you visit the Dentist? Here at Brinkley Dental in Brampton, we are happy to work together with our patients, assisting them in whatever manner they may require to make their dental experience more comfortable. In other words, if you want to “plug in, tune in and tune out” – that is, plug in your headphones, tune in to the music and tune out the dental noise, we are more than happy to find a way to accommodate you. Listening to the type of music you love best will absolutely have a calming effect on your nerves, your heart rate and blood pressure, not to mention help alleviate any anxiety you may be experiencing.
Countless studies have shown that “listening to music can have a tremendously relaxing effect on our minds and bodies” (it) “can absorb our attention, it acts as a distraction.”(1) One such study measured cortisol, a hormone released into your bloodstream during times of stress, both after participants had listened to music AND after they had performed a stressful task. “The scientists tested how classical music and nature sounds affect levels of cortisol and alpha-amylase. The alpha-amylase levels of people who listened to classical music went back to normal more quickly compared to the people listening to nature sounds. This suggests that relaxing music helps the body to return to a non-stressed state more quickly,” (2) something Brinkley Dental wants for their patients.
While the Brinkley team is confidant in our abilities to create a relaxing, stress free environment where we truly care about you and your family’s dental experience, the bottom line is we know for some folks, a visit to the Dentist sends their cortisol hormone skyrocketing. If music is what helps get you through your scheduled dental procedure – we support you. You may occasionally be asked to answer a question or two (and that requires turning the music down) but that’s no worse than talking to us in “mumbleese” the universal language of patients and Dentists everywhere. So go ahead, load up your favorite tunes on your favorite device and bring it along to your next appointment. Also, as always, we take this time to remind you that if you want to be proactive, potentially avoiding the pitfalls of dental procedures, ”don’t forget to be a BFF with your mouth and Brush that SMILE!”
(1) psychcentral.com
(2) askabiologist.asu.edu
