MedTrace Logo

Melissa Officinalis Aromatherapy for Dental Anxiety in Children

NCT07592130 · Status: NOT_YET_RECRUITING · Phase: PHASE2 · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 45

Last updated 2026-05-18

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

This clinical study will look at whether a plant-based essential oil called "Melissa officinalis" (lemon balm) can help reduce fear and stress in children during dental treatment. Children between 6 and 10 years old who need a mandibular injection for a pulpotomy or pulpectomy will be invited to participate. They will be randomly assigned to one of three groups: one group will receive aromatherapy with \*Melissa officinalis\* from brand A, another group will receive the same essential oil from brand B, and a third group will receive the usual behavioral management used in pediatric dentistry, but without aromatherapy.

The essential oil will be diffused in the dental room so that the child can gently inhale the aroma starting a few minutes before the injection and throughout the procedure. The study team will measure the child's dental anxiety using a child-friendly questionnaire with drawings of faces, observe pain behaviors during the injection, and record the child's own rating of pain with a faces scale. Heart rate and oxygen saturation will also be monitored as objective signs of stress. The goal is to find out whether "Melissa officinalis" aromatherapy is a safe, simple, non-invasive way to make dental visits less stressful and more comfortable for children, and whether there are meaningful differences between the two commercial products.

Conditions

  • Emotional Anxiety and Stress During Pediatric Dental Treatment
  • Dental Anesthesia

Interventions

OTHER

Aromatherapy with Melissa officinalis essential oil - Brand A

Melissa officinalis essential oil from Brand A (Young Living, Lehi, Utah, USA) will be placed in an electric nebulizer in the dental operatory at a standardized dilution in 10 mL of sterile distilled water. Diffusion will start 5 minutes before administration of topical anesthetic and inferior alveolar nerve block and will continue throughout the pulpotomy or pulpectomy procedure. Conventional behavioral management (tell-show-do, positive reinforcement, age appropriate communication) will also be used.

OTHER

Aromatherapy with Melissa officinalis essential oil - Brand B

Melissa officinalis essential oil from Brand B (doTERRA, Pleasant Grove, Utah, USA) will be administered with the same nebulizer model and under the same conditions and timing used in the Brand A arm (5 minutes before and during local anesthesia and treatment). Conventional behavioral management will be applied in all cases.

OTHER

Standard behavioral management

Behavioral techniques including tell-show-do, positive reinforcement, euphemistic wording, and modeling when needed will be used to facilitate cooperation during local anesthesia and pulpotomy or pulpectomy, without the use of essential oils.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Universidad Autonoma de San Luis Potosí

    lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
OTHER
Masking
DOUBLE
Model
PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age
6 Years
Max Age
10 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2026-06-15
Primary Completion
2027-01-10
Completion
2027-02-25

More Related Trials

Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT07592130 on ClinicalTrials.gov