Hypnotherapy Helped Me Go To The Dentist

I first turned to hypnosis to deal with gnawing anxiety, It worked—after years of trying everything from talk therapy to fitness to herbs, CBD, and even microdosing psilocybin.

I was grateful to find relief from anxiety and panic attacks, but I also benefited in ways I didn’t expect.

My first experience with hypnotherapy led me to undergo extensive dental work—something that would have been unthinkable for me before.

However, in the end, I breezed through a long, intense, and somewhat painful procedure with such calm that I knew I had become a different person.

Here’s what happened:

I hadn't been to a dentist in over ten years. I wasn’t in pain and didn’t think I had cavities (though I did), but I was self-conscious about my chipped front teeth and the gaps between them, so I was interested in getting veneers. At the very least, I knew a check-up was the first step and something I really needed, but my fear of the dentist kept me away. The idea of being stuck in that chair, with someone drilling in my mouth, was uncomfortable enough to make me avoid even thinking about it, let alone booking an appointment and showing up. This avoidance spiraled into self-doubt and more inaction.

At the time, my biggest problem was the anxiety I lived with. Most of the time, it was uncomfortable but tolerable. But when it escalated into full-blown anxiety attacks, it damaged my social life and stopped me from doing things I wanted to do. I would do anything to avoid getting stuck in traffic. I later learned that this kind of anxiety could lead someone to avoid traveling altogether, potentially leading to agoraphobia if taken too far for too long.

One day, a favorite YouTuber of mine talked about his anxiety problems. He shared that he had seen a hypnotherapist and discovered his anxiety stemmed from childhood trauma and disempowering self-beliefs. He said that after a few sessions, he was able to reprogram those beliefs, and since then, he rarely struggled with anxiety because his core self-talk had changed profoundly. He suggested that many people who think they have chemical imbalances are actually suffering from negative subconscious programming. I was paying attention…

This resonated with me, and I decided to go on a journey to empower my subconscious mind. I started with generic hypnotherapy videos on YouTube and made a little progress. However, I soon realized that creating my own hypnotherapy audio recordings would be a more effective path. The first few recordings were amateurish and took time and tinkering, but they worked. After a few months of dedicated self-hypnosis and improving my own program, my anxiety faded by about 95%.

The transformation was so smooth and natural that I didn’t fully realize how effective it was until one day I drove to my destination without a single anxious thought.

The most surprising part was how, in healing my anxiety, my fear of visiting the dentist also shifted significantly. One day, I booked an appointment and showed up—without hesitation or discomfort. I kept waiting for the anxiety to kick in, but it never did.

At the time, I didn’t understand why, but now I do. The reason is simple: by reversing a few negative core beliefs, I freed myself from several major challenges. My anxiety, fear of the dentist, and much of my negative self-talk were all rooted in the same disempowering beliefs I reversed.

When I finally went to the dentist, I got my cavities taken care of, which involved some mildly painful drilling and sitting in the chair for a while, yet I never felt overwhelmed, out of control, or fearful.

A few weeks later, I returned to begin the process of getting veneers on six of my front teeth. If you’re not familiar with the procedure, it involves sitting in the chair for hours while your teeth are shaved down to small nubs.

It’s loud, gruesome, somewhat painful, lengthy, and there’s no backing out. Having my teeth drilled down to nearly nothing and then walking around with temporary teeth for a few days was one of the most vulnerable experiences I’ve ever had, and I did it without fear or anxiety.

This is why I became a certified clinical hypnotherapist.

The truth is that holding negative, disempowering beliefs isn’t always about trauma, there are six ways the subconscious mind is programmed, and any of those can leave you with painful, disempowering core beliefs for your whole life.

If you would like to know my exact process and how it might apply to you, book an a free foundational session and I’d love to show you how hypnotherapy might be a good fit for you.