Dental News - Interview: "By applying hypnotherapy, dental anxiety and phobia in patients can be alleviated"

Yvonne Bachmann, DTI

Mon. 11. July 2011

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The term “hypnodontics” describes the application of hypnosis in dentistry. It was introduced some decades ago in the US. As the term appears to cause confusion, experts also use the term “dental hypnosis”. Dental Tribune ONLINE spoke to Dr John Butler, one of the founders of the Institute of Hypnotherapy for Medical and Dental Practice (IHMDP) in London, where medical and dental professionals can learn to apply hypnosis in their practice and members of the public are provided with information about how hypnosis could help them during treatment.

Bachmann: What are the advantages and disadvantages of hypnotherapy regarding dental treatment?
Butler: There are a few principal advantages. By applying hypnotherapy, dental anxiety and phobia in patients can be alleviated, as pain and discomfort in patients can be eased. Needle phobia can be reduced or even eliminated. It is possible to increase patient satisfaction and in turn boost attendance for check-ups and cleaning. Another effect is the improved well-being of staff owing to the increased cooperation of patients. The only disadvantage that I am aware of is that at least one person on the dental team has to put in the effort to learn dental hypnosis. At the IHMDP, we aim to make this a stimulating and enjoyable process, and our student feedback is very positive.

How did you get involved in this business?
I have practised clinical hypnotherapy for over thirty years. During this time, I have seen numerous clients seeking help for dental phobia, pain management, etc. With research developments in the last decade providing extremely strong evidence of the benefits of hypnosis, I received many enquiries from dentists, which resulted in developing specialised courses for dental professionals.

Could you explain the exact process once a patient asks for a dental treatment that includes hypnotherapy?
There are various methods by which hypnotherapy can be provided. For instance, the practice can provide a standard recording for the patient to listen to in advance of a session, which can also be listened to during and after the session if required. This would help the client to enter into a relaxed state, reduce pre-treatment tension and anxiety, and strengthen the ability to manage pain by various techniques, which are effective in most cases. This would usually result in a much more pleasant experience for the patient.

It’s also possible to have a preparatory session with the client to discuss their particular fears and concerns, to test which hypnotic techniques are effective for them, and to make a specific recording for that patient. This could be provided, for instance, for a severely anxious or phobic patient. More than one such session may be required for severely phobic patients with issues such as fear of loss of control etc., and for patients with pain-control problems, which would involve pain-control training using repeated testing and extending of hypnotic pain-control ability.

In any treatment situation, a member of the dental team trained in hypnosis can perform a short induction and use hypnotic communications during procedures. This does not necessarily have to be introduced formally as “hypnosis”. Many related techniques of relaxation, visualisation, etc. are familiar to patients from, for example, childbirth classes, meditative practices, group management exercises, and are readily acceptable as encouraging and enabling communications during a stressful time.

How do patients respond to hypnotherapy, especially with regard to dentistry? Does it work for everyone?
Our experience, which is borne out by all the research in the field, is that there is a range of responses in patients, from a very high response to very low. Mostly, initially low responders can gain more response through practice—this is one of the advantages of providing recordings and preparatory sessions. Provided the patient shows some response, then some benefit can be obtained. Generally, if a patient shows interest in the process, they will respond. There are some conditions that present a challenge, such as hearing impairment or severe cognitive deficits such as dementia, which interfere with the ability to sustain attention, but bearing principles of hypnotic communication in mind can be useful while using visual aids, touch, etc., to which some challenging patients are able to respond.

How much time and money do medical and dental professionals who book a seminar at your institute have to plan for? Will they receive a certificate and is this recognised outside of the UK?
Our present training programme offers two courses: the first course is Technical Foundations, which involves learning how to induce trance by various methods and how to use language and images in ways that are effective for the patient’s emotions and imagination; and the second course is Applied Clinical Skills, which involves applying and advancing the techniques learned in the first course in, for example, severe cases of phobia and pain control. Each course lasts for a full day and our aim is to provide participants with the skills and information they need to incorporate hypnosis into their practice. The teaching method is intensive with sufficiently small groups to ensure that all participants have active experiential input, which is essential for effective skills learning. The cost is £150 per course, but participants who book both courses together are eligible for a discount of £25 per course, thus a total of £250. We issue a certificate for each course that fulfils the requirements for dental continuing professional development in Britain. I assume that regulations may vary in different countries, but we are happy to supply information as to what is necessary to obtain our certification to anyone who requires this.

Regarding alternatives for people who are really scared of dental treatment, is hypnotherapy the future?
I believe so. Given the data available from research and clinical experiences, it makes sense for it to be part of the range of treatments offered by a well-informed, patient-focused dental practice.

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