The mathematics of hypnosis and pain

Hypnosis is used as part of a psychological approach in dealing with phobic patients. The patient focuses on the stimuli of images offered by the therapist's voice. The critical faculty is bypassed, and selective thinking is established. The induction is the choice of the therapist, and imagery is introduced using numerical concepts associated with left-brain-related logic rather than right-brain-related nonverbal emotionality.(1,2) There is an emotional component in the perception of pain, and this is a large factor in the development of dental phobia.(3) Clinical skill and a sympathetic manner are not sufficient to ensure absence of pain perception in the patient: there must be a lack of awareness of any of the stimuli of dentistry. The hypnotic diversion of attention from dental treatment, aiming at the elimination of the emotional perception of pain, is described in this article.