Effect of Heartfulness Meditation on Anxiety and Perceived Pain in Patients Undergoing Impacted Third Molar Surgery.

A single session of heartfulness meditation before impacted third molar surgery reduced intraoperative anxiety, as measured by the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, compared to a control group. The difference was statistically significant. However, the meditation did not significantly reduce dental anxiety or intraoperative pain perception. The study included 60 participants randomly assigned to a meditation group or a control group.

Study at a glance

Abstract

PURPOSE Oral-maxillofacial surgical procedures like Impacted third molar surgery (ITMS) may lead to increased perioperative anxiety and pain perception in patients. Psychological interventions like meditation have been shown to decrease acute anxiety levels in individuals. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of heartfulness (HFN) meditation during ITMS. We hypothesized that heartfulness meditation would reduce the intraoperative anxiety and pain perception in patients undergoing ITMS procedures. PATIENTS AND METHODS The prospective interventional study included 60 participants. They were randomly assigned to heartfulness meditation group (26 participants) and control group (34 participants). The heartfulness meditation group was given meditation before their ITMS procedure. Perioperative anxiety and pain perception was assessed using the Spielberger State - Triat Anxiety Inventory (STAI - T, STAI - S), Modified Dental Anxiety Scale (MDAS) and Numerical Rating Scale (NRS). Descriptive statistics such as frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation were used to describe the data. Inferential statistics such as Chi-square test, Unpaired T test and Pearson correlation were used to analyze the data. RESULTS The heartfulness meditation group reported less intraoperative anxiety (STAI - S) compared to the control group which was statistically significant (P < 0.002). There was a positive correlation between triat and situational anxiety levels of the participants. There was no significant difference between the groups in relation to dental anxiety and intraoperative pain perception. CONCLUSION A single session of heartfulness meditation was effective in reducing the intraoperative anxiety levels in impacted third molar surgery. However, its effectiveness in reducing dental anxiety and pain perception was not significant.