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Obtaining relaxation
It is well known that the highly nervous patient invariably has a lower threshold of pain, and will consequently be under increasing tension as the operation proceeds. It is also recognised that if this state of tension in the patient can be reduced either by drugs or, in the case of dental hypnosis, by suggestion, the patient's pain threshold will be elevated to such an extent that simple operations not involving too much pain will become tolerable to that patient.
Ensuring co-operation
Even without the induction of hypnosis, it has been found that many patients who are reassured and talked to quietly in the waking state as their treatment progresses will become much more relaxed and co-operative, thus rendering the whole procedure very much easier. In the light and medium trance states, this effect can be tremendously enhanced.
The reduction of anxiety and fear
 Most normal patients who visit their dentist are in some condition of fear. Those who have been coming for a long time probably will be less frightened. But newer patients whose confidence we have not fully gained through lack of opportunity and those who have experienced somewhat unsuccessful sessions in the past will exhibit a very active fear. If suitable steps can be taken to eliminate this, a state of mind will be produced in which treatment will become much more acceptable, and the pain threshold will once again be elevated. This can sometimes be achieved by a straightforward talk in the waking state, in the course of which the confidence of the patient is obtained. On other occasions, hypnosis can be used to great advantage since it can be directly suggested to the patient that his fears of a dental appointment will cease to exist; that he will be able to allow the necessary treatment to be carried out; and that he will experience no fear whatever during the whole of the time he spends with the dentist. In a similar manner, direct suggestion under hypnosis can be employed to reduce the fear of any particular operation that is contemplated. Fortunately, suggestions of this kind can prove very effective in the lightest stages of hypnosis, so that the vast majority of our patients can actually be helped in this way. Indeed, in so far as the reduction of anxiety and fear, and the attaining of relaxation are concerned, at least nine out of ten patients can be assisted by the use of hypnosis.
Preparation for local or general anaesthesia
Most specialist anaesthetists are in the habit of using a relaxing technique in talking to their patients before inducing anaesthesia. In the dental surgery this method can usefully be adopted before giving nitrous oxide and oxygen, and possibly some of the intravenous anaesthetic agents. Appropriate suggestions are made in a quiet, drowsy voice, and the monotony is maintained throughout the actual induction of anaesthesia. Hypnosis often supervenes well before anaesthetization is complete. Should local anaesthesia only be required, an extremely relaxed, sleepy state of mind can be induced by using a similar hypnotic technique, and it is interesting to note that under these circumstances the quantity of local anaesthetic necessary to obtain adequate anaesthesia for the operation contemplated can often be substantially reduced.
The production of analgesia
Some degree of analgesia, partial or complete, is obtainable in no more than 30 per cent of patients, but complete analgesia will only be obtainable in some 10 per cent, and even then will often require several visits to achieve. Thus complete analgesia, whilst being delightful to work with when it can be secured, must be regarded as the exception rather than the rule, whereas varying degrees of partial analgesia can often be attained.
The production of amnesia
A complete loss of memory for a dental procedure can often be induced in those deep-trance subjects who are capable of high degrees of analgesia. This can be utilised with great benefit to the patient whenever an operation has been protracted or particularly unpleasant. Under such circumstances, one can try to increase the patient's susceptibility to amnesia by various suggestions such as that the mind is going blank.
The control of fainting
 This is readily susceptible to treatment by hypnotic methods. We are all only too familiar with the type of patient who, during a hypodermic injection or immediately following it, breaks out in beads of perspiration, blanches or goes grey, and in next to no time passes out in the chair. If, at the onset of the attack, he is told with confidence and authority to place his head between his knees, thereby compressing the abdominal viscera, his colour will return in a matter of seconds and the whole episode will be over within a minute or two. Any recurrence of this can be guarded against and avoided by hypnotising such patients and making strong, positive and authoritative suggestions that fainting will not occur on any future occasion. This is particularly effective if it is also explained to the patient that fainting is directly due to fear, and that next time he will no longer be afraid.
The control of bleeding
Bleeding from a post-extraction wound or immediately following an extraction can be controlled if a strong suggestion is given to the deeply hypnotised patient that the blood flow in the particular area will be reduced for some hours. Under these circumstances, the bleeding will often cease completely. An extraction can frequently be performed without the loss of more than two or three drops of blood if the blood flow is reduced by hypnotic suggestion before the extraction is made.
The control of salivation
In a similar manner, direct suggestions that the patient's saliva will dry up for a limited period will result in a definite lessening of the flow of saliva. This can be of great assistance in the type of patient who has a profuse or ropey saliva which constitutes an increasing hazard during the preparation of a cavity in a lower tooth.
Induction of muscular rigidity of the jaw and neck
This can be produced most efficiently in the hypnotic trance by simple, direct suggestion. This is usually done to a count of five, and it is suggested to the patient that the muscles of the jaw, head and neck will become completely stiff and rigid with the jaw locked widely open until the operation is completed. The rigidity must subsequently be removed by a reverse count.
Extension of the period of analgesia
When it is anticipated that an operation will produce a certain amount of after-pain, it is quite reasonable to suggest to the patient that the area of operation will remain analgesic for the next 12 to 24 hours, thereby affording the patient a degree of post-operative comfort which would not exist nearly so long if an ordinary local anaesthetic had been used. Such instructions, however, must be strictly limited in application since severe pain following an operation may indicate the onset of a spreading infection, or that something else has gone wrong. In this case, it is essential that the patient should receive adequate warning of the necessity of revisiting the dentist.
Impression tolerance and control of gagging
The control of gagging and of sickness can undoubtedly be affected by hypnotic suggestion. The patient is told that the palate and upper portion of the pharynx is becoming anaesthetized, and that he will consequently have no need to retch. This renders the taking of impressions which have to stay in the mouth for 3 minutes or more much easier in patients who are susceptible to this type of complaint.
Tolerance of prosthetic and orthodontic appliances
The co-operation of patients in the wearing of new dentures can be actively enlisted under hypnosis, and this is equally applicable to children in the wearing offixed or removable orthodontic appliances. When suggestions to this effect are made, it is always wise to stress the reasons for the patient's co-operation and the benefits that are going to accrue from the wearing of the appliances. A further use of hypnosis in the field of orthodontics can be found in dealing with the normal thumb-sucking or tongue-thrusting type of child, whose dental abnormality is due to some extent to these two factors. A child can be instructed under hypnosis that if it must suck something, it will suck a finger rather than a thumb. This has the advantage of reducing considerably the size of the object that is sucked. The matter can be taken further and the patient can be told that any part of either hand which is placed in the mouth will taste so unpleasant that it will have to be removed. This has been known to occur after only one session of hypnosis.
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Anxiety about dental treatment is extremely common, and studies have noted that anywhere from 46% to 75% of the general population suffers from dental anxiety, while 6 - 14% of the population never goes to the dentist because of fear. 
Make sure that you have a dentist who is willing to cooperate with your plan to use trance in the treatment. Most modern dentists have heard about hypnosis and are willing to give it a chance. They simply need to provide a little time for you to do the self-hypnosis before they begin to do their work, and they probably need to be willing to work at a pace that is comfortable for you, as well as for them. 
