Fortunately, you don’t have to let dental anxiety or dental phobia prevent you from going to
the dentist. With modern sedation options, your dentist may be able to help alleviate your
anxiety during your appointment and get the treatment you need for healthy teeth and gums!

What are your sedation options to help stop dental anxiety when it comes to seeing your
dentist?

Mild Sedation: Nitrous Oxide

Nitrous oxide, often referred to as laughing gas, is an inhaled substance that’s used to stop the patient from experiencing pain and anxiety during a procedure.

While inhaling nitrous oxide, you won’t be asleep, but you won’t feel anxious either. Laughing gas is considered to be safe and is used at the majority of dental practices. Nitrous oxide is considered a non-invasive form of sedation as you’ll simply breathe it in through a mask.

The effects of this form of dental sedation are short-lived and you can drive yourself home from the appointment without any lasting effects.

Moderate Sedation: Oral Sedation

If you’d like to be a bit more sedated due to your dental fear or anxiety, you may want to ask your dentist about oral sedation.

During this form of sedation, you’ll be prescribed a pill or a liquid that you’ll take before your appointment. You will need someone to drive you to and from the appointment, but the idea is that you’ll arrive to your appointment relaxed and worry-free.

You may receive other forms of sedation during your treatment as needed to control pain or anxiety, but many people find that this form of conscious sedation helps them to visit their dentist without fear.

Moderate to Heavy Sedation: IV Sedation

Receiving a heavier form of sedation is possible at your dentist’s office with IV sedation, in
which the sedative will be administered directly into your vein for an instantaneous effect.

IV sedation is considered a moderate to heavy form of sedation in which you’ll still be awake and aware, but may feel as though you are asleep. This type of sedation is often used for shorter dental procedures.

As with oral sedation, you will require someone to drive you home from the appointment and may need a bit of time to recover from the sedative following your procedure.

Deep Sedation: General Anesthesia

General anesthesia is the deepest form of sedation you can receive. You’ll essentially be asleep for your entire procedure and may not even recall the procedure. Your dentist or oral surgeon will administer this sedative through an IV.

The effects of general anesthesia have the potential to affect you for hours after your
appointment, so it’s important to plan for this as well as to plan for someone to be waiting for you at the office to take you home.

General anesthesia is typically only considered for dental patients who need oral surgery or for people who for one reason or another do not qualify for other forms of sedation dentistry.

Have you been suffering from dental anxiety or dental phobia and let it prevent you from going to the dentist? You have options for receiving sedation dentistry to get the care you need, even if it’s just a professional teeth cleaning. Talk with your dentist about your sedation options to help alleviate your fear and anxiety at the dentist!

The post Don’t Let Fear and Anxiety Keep You from the Dentist appeared first on Your Dental Health Resource.

Dentists today provide several options for sedation dentistry, and the correct and appropriate coarse of treatment can be recommended after your initial consultation and discussion about your specific concerns and anxieties.

Nitrous Oxide Dental Sedation

This is a common method that is used with children as well as adults. It is usually called laughing gas in the office, but the technical name is nitrous oxide. If you want something with few side effects and that has a short recovery time, then this would be your best option. It is very effective as an anesthetic drug. The gas is delivered through the nose by placing a mask over the nose. A tube runs from the mask to a tank that has the nitrous oxide. The amount of gas given can be adjusted so that you are comfortable through the entire procedure. You won’t be completely asleep, but you will be in a relaxed state so that you won’t be as aware of what the dentist is doing in your mouth. When the mask is removed, you will be instructed to take several deep breaths in order to introduce oxygen back into the body. You are generally free to leave shortly after the procedure is completed.

Oral Sedation Dentistry

One of the ways that you will be completely carefree while at the dentist is by choosing oral sedation. It is a process where you are given a pill to take the night before your appointment. This will help you sleep the night before so that you are not anxious about the procedure. When you arrive at the office, you will be given a sedative to take. While you are relaxed, the dentist will begin the procedure you are to have done. You should not drive home because you will probably feel drowsy.

IV Sedation Dentistry

Similar to oral sedation, this is a process where you will be almost completely sedated while in the office. You will have an IV started in the office, and medications will be given through the IV to help you relax. This is for those who have a severe anxiety level when it comes to going to the dentist because the effects of this sedation sometimes make you drowsier than other methods. Vital signs are monitored because of the IV.

If you have a fear of the dentist, talk to dentists in your area who offer sedation dentistry treatments to find out how they can help you.So don’t let dental fear put you office from going to the dental office, and many dentists will be more than happy to explore the options you have with sedation dentistry so that you receive the care for your teeth that you need and deserve.

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