The Role of Hypnosis in Dentistry
Psychological Management to Achieve Effects on Physiological Response
by Christine Barbarit
MD, Psih
Abstract
The interpersonal relationship between the dentist and the patient is the hypnotic key to creating an effective therapeutic bond. The university program in dentistry is very focused on the medical aspect of the care forgetting the psychological care. Patients unconsciously remember their past pain when they are exposed to it again or anticipate it in the future, which conditions future behaviors and thought patterns that impact all physiology and perceptions. Studies on medical hypnosis and physiological response are complementary in understanding how hypnosis affects patients physically and how these changes contribute to therapeutic outcomes. Medical hypnosis also has an impact on hormonal and immune responses. Hypnosis techniques allow patients to focus on positive thoughts, which reduces the perception of pain and anxiety, stress, pain and can also stimulate saliva production, which is important for oral health. Finally, medical hypnosis can accelerate healing by using verbal suggestions to stimulate the production of collagen and other proteins necessary for tissue healing notably in surgery. It is important to take care of the patient as much on the psychological aspect as the execution of the technical act. Medical hypnosis allows dentistry to put back in the center of the care what makes sense and intervenes in an unconscious way on the physiological answers of the patient. We will discuss the effects of hypnosis and the concept of hypnosis through the study of Dent l’hypnose. More than ever, it is necessary to hear that the comfort of the patient is the comfort of the team for a perennial practice.