Referring your Patients for Hypnotherapy
One well-timed hypnotherapy referral can reduce dental anxiety and improve patient co-operation, especially for nervous patients and smokers who want to quit.
Hypnotherapy can help patients feel safer, calmer, and more in control, making dental care easier to deliver and easier to receive.
How hypnotherapy can help nervous dental patients:
Targets the fear loop — reduces anticipatory anxiety, catastrophic thinking and heightened pain expectation.
Builds a sense of control — patients learn calming cues they can use in the chair.
Supports past negative experiences — can help patients reframe previous distressing dental memories and reduce triggers (e.g. sounds, smells, sensation).
Improves trust and safety — supports relaxation and confidence in the treatment process, especially after prior difficult experiences.
Useful across ages and presentations — including general dental anxiety and specific phobias (e.g. needles, drilling, gagging).
How hypnotherapy can improve co-operation and appointment tolerance:
Easier starts — calmer arrivals, fewer last-minute cancellations, better readiness to sit in the chair.
More stable during procedures — reduced gag reflex sensitivity and tension; improved ability to follow instructions (e.g. open, hold still, breathe).
Longer tolerance — patients may manage longer appointments or staged treatment plans with less fatigue and distress.
Smoother teamwork — decreases interruptions, improves communication, and can shorten overall chair time when anxiety is the main barrier.
Schedule management — Better tolerance supports more predictable scheduling and a more positive experience for the whole team.
How hypnotherapy can support smokers who want to quit:
Strengthens motivation — clarifies personal reasons to quit and reinforces commitment between visits.
Reduces cravings & triggers — helps patients disrupt automatic routines (such as stress, coffee, driving, social cues).
Builds relapse-prevention skills — supports coping strategies.
Aligns with oral health goals — quitting supports periodontal health, healing and long-term treatment outcomes.
What dentists can do:
Identify nervous patients and smokers who want to quit and would benefit from added support.
Seek the patient’s permission to refer for hypnotherapy.
Refer to a qualified hypnotherapist, such as Tracy Forsythe, who can help the patient identify their goals (e.g. anxiety reduction, tolerance, phobias, smoking cessation).
Reinforce progress at dental visits to keep patients engaged and improve outcomes over time.
What the dentist may notice:
Patient arrives less distressed so that fewer pauses needed.
Smoother workflow, more predictable chair time and a schedule that runs more to time.
Patient gains an improved ability to tolerate treatment.
More feasible completion of phased treatment plans.
Less gagging/tension and better cooperation with instructions.
Higher quality impressions/scans and reduced procedural difficulty.
Clearer communication — improved ability to listen, consent, and follow post-op instructions when distress is reduced.
What to do next:
Fill in a patient referral form, linked below and submit it. Alternatively, you can advise the patient to self-refer using the same link.