DENTISTS COULD USE HYPNOSIS TO BOOST...

Dentists could use hypnosis to boost the pain-relieving qualities of laughing gas, scientists claim, after they discover the drug makes the mind more open to suggestion.

The researchers believe the gas nitrous oxide could then be used more sparingly or for more serious operations where usually a full anaesthetic is used.

The team at University College London found that people were more open to hynosis when they were using the drug, which is used by dentists to relieve pain and relax patients during minor operations.

A number of dentists have been trained in hypnosis and find that their patients respond well to being spoken to in a quiet, hypnotic manner.

The new findings suggest that these effects could be further enhanced with laughing gas.

The UCL study set out to establish whether laughing gas does indeed boost imaginative suggestibility – a trait closely related to hypnotic suggestibility.

Thirty volunteers took part in two sessions where they were given a mask from which they breathed in either air or a mixture of air and nitrous oxide.

The volunteers were not told which type of gas they were being given, and the mask was scented to disguise the sweet smell of the laughing gas.

During each session, participants were given a series of mental imagery tests and were asked to rate their response according to a scale of 1-7, where 1 was 'as clear and vivid as the real thing' and 7 was 'no image present at all'.

For example, participants were asked to close their eyes and imagine tasting oranges or smelling roast beef, feeling linen or hearing the honk of a car horn.

Volunteers were also put through a series of 'imaginative suggestibility' tests based on suggestions given to them while under the gas. The suggestions were worded to invite the participant to experience hallucinated sensations. For example, they were told to imagine a sour taste in their mouth, and were told that after a while they would actually begin to experience a sour taste in their mouth, and that this would become stronger and stronger.

The study, published in the journal Psychopharmacology, found that the nitrous oxide boosted imaginative suggestibility by approximately 10 per cent.

Dr Matthew Whalley, Honorary Research Fellow at UCL, says: "Many dentists use laughing gas to relieve discomfort in their patients, but our study suggests that combining the gas with instructions and suggestions to help them to relax and become absorbed in imagery, for example, might enhance the pain-relieving effect."

Richard Alleyne - telegraph.co.uk