Hypnosis should be used as a normal part of dental treatment, a leading dentist claims.
Dr Mike Gow, a dentist and director of dental anxiety management at The Berkeley Clinic in Glasgow, said hypnosis can be used for a range of dental issues including acute pain management, teeth grinding, stopping smoking and gagging.
He also said it is possible to carry out implants and extractions without the use of local anaesthetic due to power of hypnosis in some circumstances.
Dr Gow stressed that hypnosis should only be used alongside other evidence-based treatments.
He said treatments such as implant placement and teeth extractions can be done without the use of local anaesthetic if hypnosis is utilised in the right manner by an appropriately qualified clinician.
Dr Gow, who is speaking at the annual conference of the Irish Dental Association this weekend, said: “Hypnosis can be used for a wide range of dental issues, including grinding, anxiety management, acute pain control, stopping smoking and gagging.
“For example, I have conducted hypnosis in successful implant and extraction procedures without the use of local anaesthetic.
“This approach will not – and should not – be used like this for every dental treatment, but it shows how powerful hypnosis is and how effective it can be if applied alongside conventional pain and anxiety control methods.
“Through evidence-based scientific research, we now know more about hypnosis than ever before and it is time that the worlds of medicine and dentistry move past the scepticism, myths and misconceptions and embrace what can be a highly successful tool for so many patients.”
