A study conducted by the researchers at King’s College London has led them to yet another ‘goodness’ associated with the wonderful calming and soothing agent – lavender. Known for soothing headaches and aiding sleep, the scent of lavender is also effective in lowering anxiety levels of people visiting dentists, that too in a jiffy!

Researchers concluded that the 340 dental patients exposed to lavender oil scent immediately became less anxious about their treatment. The anxiety levels of these patients were practically measured by the way of a questionnaire handed over to them while they were awaiting their scheduled dental check-up.

During their regular clinic trips over a four-week period, one half of these patients were exposed to the scent given off by a candle warmer activating five drops of lavender oil in water, while the other half was not.
    
The anxiety level of the patients who had whiffed lavender was 7.4, as against an anxiety level of 10.7 among those patients who had not been exposed to the scent of lavender.

The ‘Daily Mail’ quoted Dr. Koula Asimakopoulou, thus: “This is a significant difference and it was present regardless of the type of dental appointment.” She further added that “Our findings suggest that lavender could certainly be used as an effective ‘on-the-spot’ anxiety reduction in dentists’ waiting rooms.”
    
Supporting the study about lavender scent, the British Psychological Society conference opined that it was only an ‘on the spot’ treatment of fears related to dental surgery, and lavender scent had no effect on the patients’ nerves about future treatment.

Metaxia Kritsidima, who led the team that conducted the study, put it all in a nutshell saying that: “A substantial number of people avoid going to dental surgeries because they are scared of the dentist, which can have a significant impact on their dental health. The anxiety experienced by these patients once they get to the dentist is stressful not only for them, but also for the dental team. Working under a state of increased tension may potentially compromise their performance, as well as lengthening appointment times. This is why finding a way of reducing dental anxiety is really important.”