Posted July 2016
Some individuals experience only mild mental discomfort in response to an upcoming appointment with their dentist while others have severe, sometimes debilitating, anxiety. When the appointment day arrives and they are led to that ominous dental chair, few patients are totally at ease and some slide into a full-blown panic attack. For decades, dentist have relied heavily on pharmacological sedation to quiet their patients and ease not only the pain but also to lessen the anxiety associated with dental procedures.
The National Institute of Health’s National Library of Medicine reports that there is a non-pharmacological approach that is underused and that has many advantages. That alternative is hypnosis.
Hypnosis can be an effective therapy to significantly less or eliminate the fear and anxiety that can occur in the days leading up to a dental procedure as well as that experienced in the dentist’s office itself. Hypnosis can also be successful in managing pain and discomfort during the procedure and in the hours and days following dental visits. Moreover, hypnosis can be used to quiet the gag reflex that some dental patients experience when the dentist’s fingers and tools are placed in their mouth.
The patient advocacy website, patient.com also reports that needle phobia can also be successfully eased with hypnotherapy.
For more information about the use of hypnotherapy for dental fear and anxiety, contact a Certified Hypnotherapist at the Louisville Hypnosis Academy