Acceptance of medical hypnosis by oral and maxillofacial patients

Prognosis in surgical treatment of diseases of the oral and maxillofacial region under local anesthesia is quite commonly restricted by compliance by the patient. An alternative approach, medical hypnosis, has not been used in oral and maxillofacial surgery to any significant degree. As such, hypnosis treatment also depends to a great extent on the cooperation of the patient, and it would seem advisable to collect information concerning the individual motivation for accepting such a treatment option. The questionnaire consisted of 21 questions and was handed out to patients of the department. A total of 310 questionnaires were evaluated statistically, and the result shows a high level of acceptance of medical hypnosis by patients being treated surgically in the oral and maxillofacial region. The authors conclude that the effectiveness of this treatment option should be examined in clinical studies.

Department of Maxillofacial Surgery, University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein/Campus Luebeck, Germany. hermesddd@aol.com