Hypnosis and pharmacological sedation for medically compromised patients

Sedating medically compromised patients (i.e., geriatric patients, patients with cardiac, kidney, or liver diseases, and those with other severe systemic conditions) for dental procedures can increase the risk of adverse events for this group of patients and can also increase the risk of liability for the clinician. The authors treated 17 apprehensive dental patients with a combination technique using hypnosis and sedative drugs. The use of hypnosis reduced the amount of sedative agent required and alleviated patient anxiety. The results indicate that hypnosis effectively allows for a reduction in the sedative dosage and provides successful and comfortable dental treatment.