Music did not show a clear anxiety advantage during wisdom-tooth surgery
Patients' anxiety fell after impacted wisdom-tooth surgery in all groups. Music, with or without white noise, did not produce a statistically clear advantage over ambient sound on the anxiety questionnaire.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
Anxiety scores decreased after surgery regardless of whether patients heard music, music with white noise or ambient sound. The between-group comparison of anxiety questionnaire changes was not statistically significant. The reported results therefore do not establish an added anxiety benefit from music, while also leaving open whether a difference could have been missed.
The abstract gives no between-group effect estimate or confidence interval, and reports no pain results despite measuring pain. Its positive conclusion about comfort is not substantiated by the reported comparisons.
What researchers found
State-anxiety questionnaire scores
Music with white noise, music alone and ambient sound were compared using changes from before to after surgery; the between-group difference was not statistically significant.
Improvement within every group
Both the anxiety questionnaire and a separate anxiety rating showed lower scores after surgery in every group. Those before-and-after changes do not isolate an effect of music because the ambient-sound group also improved.
What the comparison answers
The central test asked whether questionnaire score changes differed between groups. Its nonsignificant result does not prove that the sound conditions were equivalent, but it does not support the abstract's more positive claim of an anxiety benefit.
The original publication
The effect of music and white noise on patients' anxiety and pain during surgery for impacted mandibular third molar: a single-blind randomized controlled trial.
Alkaya Karagoz M, Altundogan S
Eur J Med Res · 2025
- PubMed ID
- 40551282
- Record checked
AI-assisted research and writing. This explains one selected publication; it is not a complete review of everything known. Our approach.
One more question, understood.
Keep track of the research you’ve explored.