Hypnotherapy Pillow Helps Reduce Dental Fear

Hypnotherapy Pillow Helps Reduce Dental Fear
March 30, 2011
By Nancy Volkers
InteliHealth News Service

INTELIHEALTH - A German study gives new meaning to the term "pillow talk."
In this case, the pillow is used in the dental treatment chair. It broadcasts relaxation hypnosis promoting instructions and soothing music into the ears of the person in the chair. The pillow with music and spoken words used a form of relaxation therapy that is often referred to as hypnotherapy. That relaxation music pillow had an iPod shuffle inserted into it. The music that was played was Johan Pachelbel’s Canon in D Major. This music has a rhythm of 60 beats per minute. It was used to help slow and synchronize the patient’s heart rate and breathing.
Many dental offices already provide soothing music or encourage patients to bring their own.
Researchers used the pillow in a study of 82 people who were having dental implant surgery. The average age of the patients was 51 years. In the surgery, metal posts are placed in the jaw. They hold crowns, bridges or dentures that replace natural teeth.
The people who used the pillow were less anxious during and after the surgery. They also had lower blood pressure and heart rates during the surgery. In the group that did not use the pillow, these measures increased.
The study appears in the April issue of the International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis.