What is Sedation Dentistry – Is it Right for You?

Sedation in dentistry pertains to the administration of anesthesia to patients while in a dental appointment to put them into a restful or a sleep-like state. This is useful in procedures that need a longer length of time, as well as to patients who may have some difficulty in controlling their movements (ie MS) and dental phobia.

There are plenty of options of sedation dentistry which don’t need putting the patient “to sleep”. The kind of sedation utilized in patients is determined on the level of their phobia or nervousness.

Varieties of Sedation Dentistry:

Oral sedation. This is usually given the night prior, or an hour before the treatment, as there are those that lose sleep and toss and turn all night prior to the appointment (occasionally adrenalin may meddle with the freezing). It simply lessens nervousness levels; hence a local anesthesia is still mandatory for pain alleviation.

Intravenous sedation. Similar to oral sedation, this doesn’t provide pain relief so a local anesthesia is still required.

General anesthesia. This kind of sedation renders the patient to become comatose. The patient isn’t conscious of what’s happening during the complete process. Local anesthesia isn’t necessary.

Nitrous Oxide Sedation. This is often referred to as laughing gas which is used to bring the patient to a state of relaxation (you may know you are at the dentist, but you just don’t care). A local anesthesia is still needed to relieve the pain.

Patient Anxiety toward Dentistry

About 30-40 million North Americans avoid going to a dentist due to anxiety and phobia. In a portion cases, these phobias are so severe that patients cancel or fail to appear at their booked appointment. They have a fear of the clinic, the dentist or the equipment. Nonetheless with ever increasing technology, there are now some ways to treat people subjected to these conditions.

Also, find a dentist with highly trained staff that are schooled in anxiety free gentle dentistry techniques, for example, NO scolding or judging, ensuring you are completely comfortable and knowing you are in good hands every step of the way. This, in and of itself, can be highly beneficial even before the dialogue about other sedation options.

Who can qualify?

Sedation dentistry might not be for everyone. However , the following are conditions of patients who can qualify for sedation during a dental procedure:

– Dental phobia or anxiety
– Difficult dental issues
– Fear of needles and drills
– Previous worrying experiences with the dentist
– Teeth sensitiveness
– Condition with difficulty movement control

Other medical conditions for example, Parkinson’s disease and cerebral palsy make patients lose control over their movements; this may hinder patients to get proper oral care. Sedation dentistry may be helpful to control involuntary movements. Nonetheless the patient must alert the dentist of their health condition and medication before proceeding with the process to avoid any complication with sedation dentistry processes.

So remember, whatever the fear, there is a solution for anybody to be able to have a big beautiful bright smile.

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