Review of Psychosomatics and suggestion therapy in dentistry

Abstract

Reviews the book Psychosomatics and suggestion therapy in dentistry by Jacob Stolzenberg (see record 1951-04041-000 ). Psychological factors in the practice of dentistry are receiving increasing attention. Dentists have always been aware that their own behavior and attitudes have a powerful effect upon the development of their practice, but they have received little instruction in the techniques of manipulating the behavior and attitudes of their patients. Likewise, little attention has been paid to the psychogenic factors involved in oral difficulties. The book under review considers primarily the latter two points; viz., 1. How can the dentist mold the behavior and attitudes of his patients in regard to dental matters? and 2. To what extent do psychological factors affect oral health? The author's answer to the first question is the use of suggestion. Suggestion is most effectively used when the patient is in the hypnotic state. Therefore, methods of inducing hypnosis and the other topics revolving around hypnosis are briefly discussed. The author's approach to his second problem of psychosomatic dentistry is of necessity very tenuous because knowledge in that field is extremely limited. For as long as there have been dentists, the primary emphasis has been on the mechanical aspects of the profession. These mechanical skills of dentistry will forever remain extremely important, but some dentists are beginning to realize that the tooth is a part of a total organism and cannot be adequately treated in a purely mechanical fashion. Stolzenberg is a member of that very small band of dentists who are forging ahead to supplement their mechanical skills with psychological knowledge. It is probably necessary to make dogmatic statements in order to arouse people to the possibility of new ways of thinking. If Stolzenberg can awaken his profession from their profound feeling of security in the mere mechanical skills of dentistry, then he may be excused for his perhaps too confident acceptance of some of the dogma of psychoanalysis. The psychologist who reads this book will likely feel very uncomfortable about some parts of it, but the book is written for the dentist. Whose responsibility is it to make the application of psychological knowledge to other professions? The reviewer believes that this responsibility rests primarily on the shoulders of the psychologist, and if he has neglected that responsibility he should not complain when members of other professions, while struggling to make the applications for themselves, accept too uncritically some of the psychological dogma. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)