Hypnosis used in dental procedure: BBC News
Mr Mason faced a £400 bill for the procedure to be performed privately. A dental patient underwent hypnosis to have two rotten teeth removed because he could not afford private treatment.
Leslie Mason was facing a £400 bill for the procedure to be performed privately as his local surgery in Colchester, Essex, had exhausted its NHS budget.
Mr Mason, 54, instead chose to play the role of guinea pig to a Hertfordshire dentist’s unorthodox form of treatment, using hypnosis as the only painkiller.
The father-of-seven said: “It was incredible. I felt no pain at all.”
Mr Mason was put in contact with dentist Dr Bhavin Bhatt, by mutual friend John Ridlington, a qualified hypnotist.
With the offer of free treatment, he agreed to the procedure performed at the Smile and Wellbeing dental practice in Bishop’s Stortford.
‘Mind over matter’
Mr Ridlington, 59, from Dunmow in Essex, said: “We all have the ability to control pain with our brains.
“Our brains control everything about our bodies and our subconscious is the most powerful part – it controls our breathing and the blood pumping through our veins.
“Hypnosis taps into the subconscious mind. It’s all about mind over matter.”
Mr Ridlington got Mr Mason into a relaxed state of mind and taught him to visualise his favourite pastime – historic battle re-enactments – to distract his mind from the pain.
Whilst wielding an imaginary medieval sword, Mr Mason visualised a dial numbered one to 10 – one for no pain and 10 for excruciating pain.
As soon as he felt a twinge he mentally turned the dial back to one.
100% effective
He remained conscious throughout the two-hour procedure and felt nothing more than “a bit of a sting”.
Mr Mason, a former farmhand, said: “It was incredible. There is no worse pain than that inflicted by dentists but I didn’t feel any.
“The dentist had to dig away at the rotten roots that were right up into my jaw. There isn’t anything I wouldn’t have done under hypnosis now. It’s incredible.”
Dr Bhatt said: “The hypnosis was 100% effective.
“With Leslie, we used hypnotherapy to remove a seriously infected tooth and some deeply embedded roots. Ordinarily this would involve surgery and such cases are usually referred to hospital.
“We’re now exploring the possibility of offering tooth transplants under hypnosis.”
Mr Mason has previously undergone hypnosis to quit his 40-a-day smoking habit.