Statement of Problem: Oral premedication used to reduce the anxiety in patients undergoing dental treatment. Passion flower has been used as a sedative that can control the dental anxiety.

 Purpose: This study determines the efficacy of Passion flower, in reducing anxiety during the dental procedures. Material and Methods: In this randomized- one sided blind clinical trial, 63 patients, with moderate, high and severe anxiety(according to VAS score) in need of periodontal treatment were randomly divided into 3 groups of 21.The first group was given the drop Passion flower drop and the second group were given the drop of placebo and the third group neither drug nor placebo were given (negative control group). Results were analyzed by Chi Square, Variance Analysis, Tucky and Paired-T using SPSS software.

 Results: Mean anxiety level prior to the drug administration was 12.09±2.42 for the Passion flower group, 12.00±2.66 for the placebo group and 11.66±2.39 for the negative control group. After premedication, these values were: 8.47±2.58 for the Passion flower group, 10.52±2.11 for the placebo group and 11.23±2.34 for the negative control group. These results demonstrated a significant difference (p< 0.0001) in the anxiety levels before and after the Passion flower administration in the Passion flower group and also between the Passion flower group and the other two groups.

 Conclusion: Results indicated that administration of Passion flower, as a premedication, is significantly effective in reducing the anxiety. Since this study is a pioneer on the subject, further trials with greater number of subjects are required to confirm our results.

 Source: Journal of Dentistry Shiraz University of Medical Sciences

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