Sounds Like a Smile: Dentist Office Playlists Easing Patient Anxiety

Top Songs on Dentist Office Playlists

When we looked at the top songs on dentist office playlists, it became clear that soothing, easygoing vibes are common.

The top track was Jason Mraz's "I'm Yours," a laid-back tune that's practically built to ease nerves. Earth, Wind & Fire's timeless hit "September" came in second, an upbeat, feel-good classic. Rounding out the top three was Train's "Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me)," a mellow rock ballad that blends nostalgia with chill energy. These choices suggest that dental offices are going for a mix of positivity and calm to help patients relax before they get in the chair.

Top Artists and Genres on Dentist Office Playlists

The data didn't just reveal top songs. We also identified the most frequently played artists and genres, and the results are an interesting mash-up of comfort and variety.

Fleetwood Mac took the top spot as the artist most frequently featured on dentist office playlists, with The Beatles and Taylor Swift right behind. These artists all bring something different to the table: classic rock familiarity, timeless melodies, and emotionally resonant pop.

Looking at genre trends, rock came out on top, followed by country and EDM. Country favorite Chris Stapleton represented the top of his category, while Disclosure, Odesza, and Kygo led the EDM crowd, a genre known for its smooth, beat-driven background energy.

Even metal songs made an appearance. Metallica, Ozzy Osbourne, and Iron Maiden ranked as the three most popular, showing that even heavier music has a place in the dental playlist world.

How Music Impacts Patient Experience

Music is often more than just background noise, as it can affect how people feel. We asked Americans about their dental experiences and how music plays into it. Their responses were eye-opening.

Seventy percent of Americans said music makes them feel more comfortable during dental visits. Classical music was rated the most relaxing genre by 42% of respondents. When asked which artists were the most calming to hear during a dental procedure, respondents ranked the top five as Fleetwood Mac, Taylor Swift, Coldplay, Billy Joel, and the Eagles. These artists offer soothing sounds and familiarity, two things that can help patients settle in.

Nearly half of respondents (46%) said they just listen to the music the office plays, but 11% bring their own tunes. Interestingly, 44% said they'd be more likely to visit a dentist who lets them control the playlist. Giving patients some control might be a simple way to boost comfort and loyalty.

Metal fans stood out among our survey respondents, with 38% reporting elevated stress levels during dental visits — the highest of any genre fan group. Metal fans were also the least likely to go to the dentist regularly, with just over half (52%) keeping up with routine visits, and they reported the highest levels of dental anxiety (41%).

Other genre fans had quirks, too. EDM listeners were the least likely to floss, with 14% saying they never do, and R&B and soul fans were the most likely to miss or cancel dental appointments, with 19% admitting to skipping out.

Conclusion: Turning Up the Volume on Patient Comfort

The music playing at the dentist's office can make a big difference in how patients feel. A good playlist helps people relax, feel more comfortable, and maybe even forget they're sitting in a dental chair. Whether it's classic rock, pop, or something soothing like classical, the right tunes can ease anxiety and make the visit a little better. For dentists, choosing the right music is a simple way to help patients feel more at home and more likely to come back.

Methodology

We collected data by scraping public Spotify playlists associated with the search term "dentist office waiting room." For each playlist, we extracted the song titles, artists, and Spotify-defined genre tags tied to the tracks and performers. To standardize the dataset, we created a combined "Song – Artist" identifier and restructured the genre information.

Since Spotify often associates artists with multiple genre labels, we split the genre column into lists and "exploded" the data so that each row represented a single genre affiliation. We then grouped related subgenres into broader umbrella categories (e.g., soft rock, classic rock, and yacht rock were consolidated under rock) to enable higher-level comparisons.

Additionally, we surveyed 1,000 Americans to explore how music can improve dental experiences.

Limitations

This dataset reflects the curation patterns of Spotify playlists under a specific theme, rather than overall streaming trends on the platform. As such, the counts indicate frequency of appearance within these playlists, not global popularity. Spotify's genre tags can also be inconsistent or highly granular, which may result in overlaps across categories (e.g., indie pop could fit into either pop or singer-songwriter). While we minimized this by consolidating subgenres into broad categories, some subjectivity remains in how artists are classified (for instance, Taylor Swift spans both pop and country, but we categorized her under pop). Finally, artists with diverse catalogs may be split across multiple genre tags if Spotify assigns them inconsistently.

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Fair Use Statement

We welcome the sharing of this study for noncommercial purposes. If you use or reference this data, please include a link back to Clarify Capital to give proper credit.