Dental anxiety can be a hindrance to treatment. It is prevalent, so helping patients to overcome it should not be regarded as the province of a specialist. Hypnosis can be effective but is underused. A comparison of the conscious, alert state and hypnosis/nitrous oxide sedation is shown by electroencephalogram examples. The benefits and drawbacks of the use of hypnosis are discussed and suggestions of ways of learning and using hypnosis outlined.
Clinical relevance: This paper is an overview of the common problem of dental anxiety and a pragmatic approach to overcoming it using hypnotherapy.