Classical Music for the Dentist: Best Pieces to Mask Dental Drill Sounds

There are times when you just want sound to remove other sounds – most often when you’re in the dentist’s chair, and that high-pitched sound for cleaning your teeth is going to start. It sets your teeth on edge, but that’s the wrong metaphor, because you have to sit there, teeth bared, while they polish your ivories (or put an edge on your fangs!).

We heard a complaint the other day from a dissatisfied dental patient. They’d given her music to listen to while they were going about their dental business, and she said it was just terrible. Could we suggest anything?

What’s the music to listen to for those kinds of situations? In my experience, you want something with a quality that buries that high-pitched sound of the dental instruments. Violins are perfect for this. Pick a late Mozart symphony, and soon you’ll be revelling in the sounds of beauty while improving your smile.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Symphony No. 40 in G Minor, K. 550 – IV. Allegro assai (Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra; Roger Norrington, cond.)

If you choose Beethoven, look at something like the storm movement of his Pastoral symphony – there’s a nice buildup at the beginning that will deal with any number of noises happening on the outside of your earphones.

Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68, “Pastoral” – IV. Thunder-storm: Allegro (Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra; Roger Norrington, cond.)

What you really don’t want are electric guitars and sounds that reinforce the drill and buzzing sounds.

If you want a composer more modern than Mozart or Beethoven, there’s a wonderful collection of Felix Mendelssohn’s String Symphonies. Written when he was just 12, they have a busy scurrying sound that can hide any annoying noises.

Felix Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 1 in C Major – I. Allegro (Northern Chamber Orchestra; Nicholas Ward, cond.)

Avoid works with the word ‘Quiet’ in the title. You want full, rich sound to block out the noise.

A particular favourite is Australian composer Graham Koehne’s Elevator Music – it’s non-stop action and in trying to follow the actions of the box on the wire, the elevator, you’ll forget all about that man in the mask hovering next to your reclining chair.

Graeme Koehne: Elevator Music (Sydney Symphony Orchestra; Takuo Yuasa, cond.)

! Listen to the music so you don’t have to hear the other distressing noises happening around you. Follow the classical trail to a more enjoyable dental experience.

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