Research summary · Field study · 2000
Orange scent in a dental waiting room: calmer, happier female patients
Women who waited for dental treatment with orange essential oil diffused in the waiting room reported lower anxiety, a more positive mood and more calm than women who waited without it. The effect was reported for women only.
Reviewed by Simon Faure-Field · 8 October 2026 · Based on the published abstract
Part of our evidence review: Does scent reduce anxiety in dental and medical waiting rooms?
At a glance
Key findings
- 72patients aged 22 to 57, waiting for dental treatment.
- Womenin the orange-scent group reported lower anxiety, better mood and more calm than women without it.
- 2 groupsorange scent from an electric dispenser, or no scent.
The study
Citation and study details
Citation: Lehrner, J., Eckersberger, C., Walla, P., Pötsch, G., & Deecke, L. (2000). Ambient odor of orange in a dental office reduces anxiety and improves mood in female patients. Physiology & Behavior, 71(1–2), 83–86.
Read the original: doi.org/10.1016/s0031-9384(00)00308-5
- Study typeControlled field studyIndexed as a randomised controlled trial
- Sample72 dental patients32 men and 40 women, aged 22–57
- SettingA dental practice waiting roomOrange scent or no scent
- Evidence gradeA: direct field evidenceReal patients before real treatment
Method
What the researchers did
Patients waiting for dental treatment were assigned to an orange-scent group or a no-scent control group.
The study included 72 patients aged 22 to 57. The control group had 14 men and 23 women; the scent group had 18 men and 17 women. In the scent group, orange essential oil (Citrus sinensis) was diffused into the waiting room through an electrical dispenser. In the control group, there was no scent in the air.
While they waited, patients completed self-report measures of their background, trait and state anxiety, current pain, mood, alertness and calmness.
Results
What they found
Women who waited with orange scent were less anxious, in a better mood and calmer than women who waited without it.
Compared with the control group, women exposed to orange scent had lower state anxiety (the anxiety felt in the moment), a more positive mood and a higher level of calmness.
The published abstract reports these effects for women only. It does not report a corresponding effect for men.
The authors read the results as support for the sedative properties of orange essential oil.
Limitations
Limitations
A small sample, one practice, and a result found in one subgroup.
With 72 patients split into two groups and then by sex, each subgroup was small. A finding in one subgroup of a small study needs replication before it can be generalised.
When Toet and colleagues repeated the orange-scent design in three large dental clinics in the Netherlands, they found no effect on anxiety or mood. This summary is based on the published abstract, so details such as the dispenser settings and scent strength are not reported here.
A note on the evidence
How strong is this evidence?
Encouraging but limited: an early, small study whose main result did not replicate in larger clinics.
This was one of the first controlled studies of ambient scent in a dental waiting room, and it prompted the research that followed. Its positive result comes from a subgroup, and the closest independent replication found no effect. It is best read alongside the other dental studies rather than on its own.
For commercial spaces
What it means for commercial spaces
For a dental practice, the study suggests that a pleasant scent in the waiting room may help some patients feel calmer before treatment. It does not show that orange works for everyone: the effect was found in women, and a larger replication found no effect for orange at all. Lavender has more consistent support across the dental studies. A practice trying scent should keep it subtle and ask patients how they feel, rather than assume an effect.
Scent Swirl supplies ambient scenting for dental practices. See how scenting works in dental clinics →
How to cite this summary
Scent Swirl. (2026). Summary of Lehrner et al. (2000), Ambient odor of orange in a dental office reduces anxiety and improves mood in female patients. Scent Research Library. https://scentswirl.com/research/lehrner-2000-orange-scent-dental-anxiety/ (last reviewed 8 October 2026 by Simon Faure-Field).
This summary is based on the published abstract. We have not yet reviewed the full paper. If you spot an error or know of a study we should add, we would like to hear from you.
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