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Does my partner need hypnotherapy for his dental phobia?

Hi my partner has recently visited the harley street dental clinic In London and was told he needed some work doing, he has a major phobia of the dentist and has to be sedated for every appointment even a filling but whilst he is under sedation he thrashes around so it has been suggested he has some hypnotherapy before this treatment can commence can u help

Hello
Hypnotherapy might help . However I have a number of patients who this happens to , even with the deep sedation that an anaesthetist provides .
Often these people have a very deep phobia which can be described as Post Traumatic Dental Anxiety , and sedation does nothing to counter that . I have noted that its often the noises that trigger this off , as even when sedated the patient can hear this and their subconscious mind remembers the trauma .
This does make carrying out dental treatment very difficult to do safely and to an acceptable standard , although often the person remembers nothing about this .
An option which might help would be to have an in- depth asessment of what his problems are with dental treatment , both psychologicla and physical , and then do some work on desensitisation /CBT , prior to trying the sedation again , or a different method .
I do provide that .
Hope this helps
jenny

Answer provided by: Dr Jennifer Pinder Retired
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