Hypnosis in Pediatric Dentistry

Till date the world could not see hypnosis rise to its full potential as an effective non-pharmacological method of managing anxiety and pain in children. Nor could the techniques of hypnosis be perfected over centuries due to the dark clouds of myths and misconception around it. Practiced since ancient times, the newer aspects of neurophysiology, its effect on different parts of the brain and the positron emission tomography (PET) results have greatly contributed to its acceptance in recent years. This book talks about the evolution of hypnosis from ancient times to the modern era, infamous misconceptions and busting them with facts and the techniques of hypnosis with stepwise guide from induction to deepening and dehypnotization. The later half of the book includes applications of hypnosis in pediatric dentistry namely removal of deleterious habits like nail biting, thumb sucking etc. The evidence about the hypnotic potential has been documented, establishing the fact that hypnosis is nowhere less if not more effective than any of the other non-pharmacological techniques and even comparable to pharmacological means. A note about its future and ethical aspects has also been added.