Application of hypnosis in autism spectrum patients referred to a dental office, a clinical study

Objective:The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of hypnotic suggestions on ASD (autistic spectrum disorder) patients to encourage them for their dental needs.Hypothesis:According to impairments in social interaction and disability of focusing on suggestions, Hypnosis may not be helpful to encourage ASD patients for their dental needs.Materials and methods:A total number of42 ASD patients with several dental problems were subjected to refer to an office.24 of the patients under supervision of Guilan Autism Association were randomly selected to be previously met for hypnotic pre-talk and personal evaluations for their special needs (group 1), whereas the other 18 patients were subjected to be visited on the same day of treatment (group2).Both groups encountered the same mental preparation on the day of treatment.Randomization:The allocation of patients in groups were performed by coin toss selection.Results:Seventy percent of ASD patients in group1 were able to receive treatments such as tooth extraction, restorations, and scaling even without any injection of local anesthesia; 30% cooperatively sat on the dental chair, getting oral hygiene instructions.Only 20% in control group (group2) sat for primary dental needs such as scaling and oral hygiene instructions,while the rest 80% even refused to sit on the dental unit.Conclusion: According to these results hypnosis may be a better and helpful alternative for ASD patients in dentistry in compared with other conventional techniques.