TY - JOUR AU - Jahanimoghadam, Fatemeh AU - Shojaeepoor, Raziyeh AU - Aftabi, Reyhaneh AU - Shahravan, Arash AU - Horri, Azadeh AU - Jookar, Sima PY - 2022/11/30 Y2 - 2024/03/28 TI - Impact of Laughter Therapy on Anxiety and Pain in Pediatric Dentistry: A Double-Blinded Randomized, Controlled Clinical Trial JF - Pesquisa Brasileira em Odontopediatria e Clínica Integrada JA - Pesqui Bras Odontopediatria Clin Integr VL - 22 IS - SE - DO - UR - https://revista.uepb.edu.br/PBOCI/article/view/1604 SP - e210160 AB - <div><strong><span lang="EN-US">Objective:&nbsp;</span></strong><span lang="EN-US">To evaluate the effect of laughter therapy on reducing anxiety and pain during dental procedures in children 5</span><span lang="EN-US">‒</span><span lang="EN-US">7 years of age</span><span lang="EN-US">.&nbsp;</span><strong><span lang="EN-US">Material and Methods:&nbsp;</span></strong><span lang="EN-US">48 children aged 5</span><span lang="EN-US">‒</span><span lang="EN-US">7 years were included in this cross-over double-blinded clinical trial after the parents completed the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Disorder questionnaire (SCARED). After allocation into two groups: laughter intervention (A) and neutral intervention (B), the anxiety as well as pain were determined by Modified Child Dental Anxiety Scale Faces questionnaire (MCDASF) and the Wong-Baker Faces Scale, respectively. Also, the child’s behavior during the treatment was recorded using the Sound, Eye, Motor scale (SEM). Data were analyzed by SPSS 21 using Paired t-test, Independent t-test, Chi-square, Mann-Whitney and Wilcoxon’s test.&nbsp;</span><strong><span lang="EN-US">Results:&nbsp;</span></strong><span lang="EN-US">The mean score of anxiety in the laughter intervention group (17.42±2.74) was significantly less than (22.06±2.16) in the neutral intervention group (p=0.000) and lower in boys in both groups (p=0.000, p=0.047). The mean pain severity reported by the children in the neutral intervention group (5.33±1.81) was higher than in the laughter intervention group (2.38±1.87; p=0.00) and higher in girls in both groups (p=0.02; p=0.03)</span><span lang="EN-US">.&nbsp;</span><strong><span lang="EN-US">Conclusion:&nbsp;</span></strong><span lang="EN-US">The laughter intervention before dental procedures had a significant effect on reducing anxiety and pain during dental treatment.</span></div> ER -