Healing in Harmony

Sisters Erica Perry, a student at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine (D26), and Alexis Perry, a student at Tufts University School of Medicine (M27), have found a unique way to bring comfort and connection to their patients: through music. Whether it’s playing calming tunes during dental appointments or singing familiar songs to elders in the Chinatown community, their shared love of music has become a powerful tool for healing and human connection.

Erica: “Music is a big part of who I am. In the clinic, one of the first questions I ask my patients is what kind of music they’d like to listen to during our appointment. I connect my phone to the speaker, and I play away. Sharing our favorite songs and artists helps us to form a connection. Dentistry can be scary for some people, but I’ve noticed that if I play some gentle music, it helps calm nerves. (And sometimes, I play rock music, and we jam out.)”

Alexis: “One of my favorite earliest memories of music together was singing “(You Ain’t Nothing but a) Hound Dog” for our uncle Warren. Despite his dementia, he would come over to clap and dance along. It seemed to bring back a little part of himself. Erica and I both began sharing music in our home health aide roles. And now at Tufts, we’re grateful to be able to continue sharing music with patients at the dialysis clinic, Holyoke Veterans Home, and for elders in the surrounding Chinatown community.”

E: “We have this personal experience of music as a way to connect, even if you don’t speak the same language—or a patient cannot speak at all. Neither of us is fluent in Chinese, but when we perform for the Greater Boston Chinese Golden Age Center’s elders, we sing songs in Chinese our grandmother used to sing to us, or we learn favorite songs they request.”

A: “It has helped us to become better communicators, so that we can one day connect with our patients on a deeper level. They’ll say things like, ‘Every time you come, it makes me feel ten years younger!’ Little compliments like that help us realize how much they appreciate it.”

E: “The best part is we get to continue doing it together. Tufts allows us to explore our own individual interests and gives us the space to grow into our own selves. But at the end of the day, we connect back to each other.”