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Dental Applications of Hypnosis: Reducing TMD Pain, Clenching, and Fear
Louis F. Damis, PhD, ABPP; Judy A. Thomas, DDS

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This workshop will address the assessment and treatment of temporomandibular pain disorders (TMD) as well as application of hypnosis for dental phobias, gagging, salivation, blood loss, and health promotion. Mechanisms and maintaining variables contributing to persistent musculoskeletal pain will be reviewed with specific attention to temporomandibular pain disorders. A comprehensive biobehavioral approach emphasizing the use of traditional and alert hypnotic interventions for reductions in clenching, pain, and fear will be presented. Empirical studies supporting major interventions will be reviewed. Theory and application will be addressed providing participants with conceptual models of pain and fear modification that will facilitate a range of varied applications. Moreover, adapting interventions to specific client presentations will be explored along with motivation and maintenance issues. Skill acquisition will be facilitated through presentation, demonstration, and experiential exercises. Although emphasis will be on focused interventions useful in the dental office, these techniques are applicable to a wide range of symptoms and settings. Consequently, this workshop will be of use to dentists as well as other health care professionals helping patients master persistent pain, phobias, invasive medical procedures, and other health-related issues.

Professionals attending this workshop will be able to reduce patient pain and fear, allow them to participate in dental procedures, and control symptoms of excessive gagging, salvation, and bleeding. Moreover, participants will accomplish these goals by learning to identify common presentations of TMD, appreciate factors contributing to the development and maintenance of persistent pain, educate patients on strategies for altering these maintaining variables, utilize clinical hypnosis to modify contributory factors in the service of pain prevention, train their patients to use self-hypnosis to modulate pain directly, and apply hypnosis for generalization and maintenance of treatment gains. Participants will also be able to apply hypnotic strategies for the desensitization of patient fears of dental procedures as well as control of excessive salivation, gagging, and blood loss. Moreover, participants will be able to apply different hypnotic approaches including alert hypnosis strategies to match divergent patient presentations and responses.

At the conclusion of this session, participants should be able to…

Identify two behaviors contributing to maintentance of persistent musculoskeletal TMD
pain and educate patients on strategies for modifying those behaviors and habits;

Apply three hypnotic pain control and prevention strategies for treatment of TMD; and

Apply traditional and alert hypnosis strategies for desensitization of patient fears
promoting their capacity to participate in dental procedures and promote management.