Hypnosis at the dental office – a way to relax and relieve anxiety during treatment
More and more patients decide to have dental procedures performed under hypnosis. Whether it is fear of the procedures that are performed, fear of injections, strong gag reflex or drug allergy: medical hypnosis can help you experience a safe and pain-free relaxing dental visit.
What is Hypnosis?
Hypnosis (from the word Hypnos, the Greek god of sleep) is a process for obtaining a changed state of consciousness, otherwise called a hypnotic trance. This condition is characterized by deep relaxation and receptiveness for suggestions. When in trance, your whole attention is focused on one object, so that your surroundings are completely or partly blurred out- we can also experience this kind of state on a day-to-day basis while jogging, reading a relaxing book or concentrating on a difficult task.
This is how hypnosis works
Your natural ability to go into trance is used deliberately during dental hypnosis. This way the patient can separate him/herself mentally from the present situation and think pleasant thoughts. As a result, the body is fully relaxed. The patient starts breathing calmly, the blood pressure falls and the heart rate slows down. In this state, surgical procedures can be performed without the patient feeling any pain.
Hypnosis of children and adults
Eighty percent of adults are considered susceptible to hypnotization and ten percent are considered very susceptible. Even children who are older than 3 years, may benefit from hypnosis. Hypnosis of children differs in some key aspects in comparison with hypnosis of the adults. Small children often lack the ability to concentrate, relax, contemplate or find their inner peace, therefore they require more palpable forms of hypnotic induction. Their attention is caught with puppets, magic tricks or jokes or even with stories, fairy tales and fables. With fun and games, the stress is taken away from the child.
Here, hypnosis helps.
Hypnosis can be used in all aspects of medicine. Procedures which require time, particularly preparation for crowns and bridges can be quite a comfortable experience when in trance. Hypnosis has been proven to be helpful in these particular cases, also with nitrous oxide:
- Fear of dental interventions / injection
- Medication allergies / intolerances
- Fainting during dental treatment
- Combined with laser treatment it is a method of obtaining almost pain-free and non-contact treatment. The “drilling” process is carried out without unpleasant sensations.
- Long-term treatment
- Excessive gag reflex
- Increased risk of side effects during anaesthesia
- Quitting smoking
- Nutritional and weight control
Benefits of Hypnosis
- Less stress for the patient
- Effective pain control
- Better wound healing
- Pleasant experience during treatment
- Less complications after surgery i.e. swelling/ haemorrhage
Hypnosis CD
Special Hypnosis-CDs are played through headphones, where trance music or speech is used to set the patient in a trance. Sounds coming from the patient’s surrounding blur out and the patient can relax properly.
