Comparison of Thaumaturgy and Bach Flower Therapy in Alleviating Dental Anxiety among Children Aged 6–12 Years: A Randomized Controlled Study

Background: Tell-Show-Do (TSD), a common technique based on informing and preparing the child, sometimes works; alternative approaches such as Bach Flower Therapy (BFT) and thaumaturgy (TH) offer promise.Both methods aim to address the emotional side of anxiety.Aim: This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of BFT and TH in reducing dental anxiety in children aged between 6 and 12. Materials and methods: A three-arm, parallel-group randomized study was conducted with 90 participants aged between 6-12 years reporting to the pediatric dentistry department needing pulp therapy.Children were randomly assigned to three groups: TSD, BFT, and TH.Anxiety was measured pre and postintervention using a pulse oximeter and facial image scale.During the pulp therapy procedure, the coinvestigator recorded participants' behavior and rated them according to the North Carolina behavior rating scale (NCBRS).Data obtained were analyzed with SPSS software version 20.0 and were carried out using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Chi-square test; significance value <0.05 was considered.Results: Thaumaturgy and BFT outshone conventional methods in reducing facial image scale (FIS) scores measured after the treatment of pulp therapy procedures, showing a statistically significant reduction in FIS scores with a p-value less than 0.001.The pulse rate scores also decreased after the treatment procedure, but the decrease in score was not statistically significant; the p-value equals 0.213.Conclusion: Thaumaturgy and BFT are better in reducing 6-12-year-old children's dental anxiety, who are undergoing pulp therapy.TH is most effective, followed by BFT and TSD.Clinical significance: Thaumaturgy and BFT can be used in pediatric dentistry to reduce dental anxiety in children.