My brother recently told me his wife had a tooth pulled three weeks ago and still is experiencing pain. She also had a bone graft in preparation for an implant in six months.

Dental visits are not pleasant for most of us. We approach with a concern about how much his work will hurt.

Even though a patient may be numbed or even knocked out, pain will be an issue. When some hear the sound of a drill, they imagine they are hurting.

Amazing how we create our own issues. Had we been raised with a love of going to a dentist, enjoying the sound of a drill,  our attitude would be different. Many  patients fear being poked with needles.

Once a dentist told me that when he found out I was a hypnotist, he was shocked. Another hypnotist had gone to see him for a root canal and an extraction. When the dentist administered the anesthetic, the patient refused. He  asked for five minutes to self-hypnotize.

The hypnotist asked the dentist to come back in five minutes, not to talk to him but to start the work immediately. The dentist was stunned. The hypnotist did not react or move during surgery and. He felt no pain afterward.

Not So New

Hypnosis is an extraordinary tool, used for hundreds of years as an anesthetic. Capt. James Braid rediscovered the power of hypnosis in the mid-1700s and applied it to the war-wounded. Not only were some of the patients good hypnotic candidates, those who went under sustained less blood loss, less pain, fewer infections and a quicker recovery.

Western medicine is beginning to catch on to the healing abilities of our own bodies and the power of the mind to help the body to heal more quickly.

I used self-hypnosis to deal with three major surgeries over a six-year period. In each case I used only 5 percent of the pain medication normally given for these kinds of surgeries. It stopped all pain medications within 72 hours. I recovered  30 percent faster than anticipated.

I attribute my unusual recovery to hypnosis. Often we think of the negative rather than the positive, anticipating the pain, tensing up rather than relaxing. 

Relaxing Is Crucial

Many techniques are available to resolve pain issues through hypnosis or self-hypnosis. Relaxation is the key.

Pain is the body’s way of letting your brain know there is an issue. Seeing a medical practitioner is important. Once you know the source, hypnotic intervention can help to control it.

A two-year study found people who consistently take pain meds increased their pain-killer tolerance. They required more medication to resolve their continuing pain. Patients in the study who opted to learn self-hypnosis reduced their pain more swiftly.

Addiction to pain medication is a major problem. Doctors and hospitals wrestle with ways to help their patients to deal with their pre- and post- pain. Hypnosis combats pain. See a hypnotherapist who will teach you techniques you want to eliminate your dental and other body pains.

Do not hesitate to contact me by telephone, 310.204.3321, or by email at nickpollak@hypnotherapy4you.net. See my website at www.hypnotherapy4you.net