BIOSUGGESTIVE THERAPY IN THE TREATMENT OF DENTAL PHOBIA

Abstract

Relevance. Fear of dental treatment - dentofobia - is an obsessive fear of visiting a dental office, a fear of the personality of the dentist and dental equipment. The fear of treatment at the dentist is the main reason that patients delay visits to a dentist, refuse treatment or self-medication using. Many people with dentofobia seek help only in urgent cases, for example, with severe pain syndrome or with an abscess.
 Objective: the estimation of influence of the method of biosuggestive therapy on the emotional state of patients in the dental profile by a dynamic evaluation of neurotic symptoms before and after a visit to the dentist.
 Material and methods. 92 respondents were examined: 43 men (46,7 %) and 49 women (53,3 %), aged from 25 to 62 years, who applied for dental care. Modification scale of the dental anxiety (MDAS) was used for self-assessment of anxiety level. The Hamilton scale (HAM-A) was used for an objective assessment of the severity of anxiety symptoms and the level of anxiety. The method of biosuggestive therapy was used for the psychocorrection of anxiety. This method based on a combination of verbal and non-verbal suggestion in a light trance state. We used not only suggestion, but also other techniques: the contact of the palm of the therapist with the respondent's body, induction, the corresponding setting of the voice, etc. The results were statistically processed.
 Results. According MDAS scale, clinically significant anxiety before a visit to the dentist was found in 82,6±4,0 % of patients. The anxious-hypochondriacal (38,1±7,5 %) and anxious-depressive (33,3±7,3 %) syndromes dominated. According the HAM-A scale, anxiety-phobic symptoms, sleep disorders, autonomic disorders and somatoform dysfunctions predominated in the structure of neurotic symptoms with the primary involvement of the digestive system and the urinary system. The level of neurotic symptoms in women was more than in men (according the scale of HAM-A, 50±0,5 points and 38±0,8 points, respectively, p<0,05). After biosuggestion therapy, 92,9±4,0 % of patients noted subjective improvement in their emotional state and decrease of anxiety’s level. According to the scale of HAM-A, in the main group showed a significant decrease in the severity of neurotic symptoms by 57,7±7,5 % of the baseline, while in the comparison group it was only 29,1±7,4 %, p<0,001.
 Conclusion. The method of biosuggestion therapy is effective and expedient for the normalization of emotional state of patients before a visit to a dentist.