Have you ever felt anxiety before going to the dentist? Many people do. This common apprehension is known as dental phobia. According to the Dental Organization for Conscious Sedation (DOCS Education) 30% of the population routinely avoids the dentist due to a dental phobia. This all-too-common fear prevents people from receiving the necessary, routine dental care which is compromising the health and functionality of their mouth and affecting their smile. Sedation (or sleep dentistry) it the answer! Sedation dentistry is used to provide a calming and anxiety-free experience for certain people when receiving dental treatment. It enables individuals that are too afraid to go to the dentist to receive the dental care they need while avoiding their fears.
What Is Meant by Sedation Dental Hospital Near Me Dentistry?
Sedation is a process used to induce a patient into a relaxed, calm and anxiety-free state through the use of sedatives. Sedative drugs, i.e. tranquillizers, depressants, anti-anxiety medications, nitrous oxide, etc. can be administered in a variety of ways. The common sedation method used in the past was intravenous I V sedation; sedatives that were delivered by injection into the patient’s blood vessels of the hand or arm.
The use of I V sedation is both safe and effective when administered by a trained professional. Today, however, sedation dentistry has become an even more conducive to a relaxing experience. Patients now have alternatives to the traditional use of nitrous oxide or “laughing gas” inhalation and I Vs, such as those offering a “no needle” (meaning, no injection) approach that many people find more appealing.
Oral sedation dentistry is now the most common technique used in the U.S. to calm a patient’s fears. This technique is easy and requires no needles. Best of all, the medications create such a comfortable experience that most patients do not even remember the visit! It is as if they slept through the entire treatment. In reality, oral sedation dentistry maintains a level of consciousness in the patient for safety and cooperation. Note that sedation is different from anesthetic injections. Although some forms of sedation, such as nitrous oxide gas, may raise your threshold for pain, most dental treatments still require a local anesthetic injected in the mouth, even when sedation dentistry techniques are performed. The difference is, with oral sedation the patient is calm and relaxed, and doesn’t feel (or remember) the injection. With this procedure, the local anesthetic will temporarily block pain impulses from the affected teeth and gum tissue allowing the dentist to do their work. Again, this injection will occur after you are already sedated and comfortable, so you won’t be bothered by or even remember the sensation of having the injection.
Regardless of the type of sedation dentistry you receive, it is important to have a responsible person accompany you to the procedure and drive you there, especially if you must take oral medication before arriving for your appointment. The person should also drive you home after the procedure is completed and stay with you for an additional two to four hours.
What are the Benefits of Sedation Dentistry?
One of the major benefits of sedation dentistry is that people often feel like their dental procedure lasts only a few minutes, when in fact it might have taken an hour or more to complete. Because of this, complex dental procedures such as smile makeovers or extensive rebuilding procedures that normally require multiple visits can often be performed in fewer appointments.
If you feel reluctant to change the appearance of your smile because you are afraid or anxious about undergoing dental procedures, sedation dentistry is for you. It will make you comfortable during the treatment process and help you achieve a pain free smile you can be proud of.
Also, because sedation dentistry addresses some of the fears that keep people from going to the dentist on a regular basis, sedation dentistry patients are more likely to receive their recommended Muscle Relaxant For Tooth Pain routine care. As a result, they are less likely to neglect their oral health or to allow oral health problems to build to the point where emergency dental treatments become necessary.
So what is Sleep Dentistry?
Sedation dentistry has occasionally been dubbed sleep dentistry, but this term is quite misleading. In actuality you do not sleep during the procedure, but because of the effects produced by the sedative, you may feel sleepy. Sedation dentistry enables you to be kept awake throughout the entire procedure, but you will feel relaxed and most likely won’t remember much about your treatment.