What is Sedation Dentistry
Let’s face it going to the dentist is not fun, we understand that a trip to the dentist is not something most people look forward to which is why we try so hard to make our patients experience as pleasant and comfortable as possible. Every patient has some level of anxiety when going to the dentist and those levels vary greatly. Pain and anxiety are relative to the individual; for example one patient may experience very little anxiety/discomfort with a simple injection and the next patient may experience more anxiety/discomfort. These differences can be attributed to our differences in anatomy and biochemistry. It is very important for people who have higher levels of dental anxiety to realize that they are not alone. Dental anxiety is a challenge that we address every single day in our practice and because levels of anxiety vary greatly to each individual we have many different option to overcome it.
TLC (Time, Learning, Catering)
Very often some patients don’t want or need actual sedation they just need a little extra TLC and we are more than happy to provide that. Sometimes just taking the Time to understand the things that make our patients uncomfortable we can simply make adjustments to how we deliver care and Cater to their specific fears. Sometimes patients can have heightened levels of fear because they were misinformed and so taking the time to educate our patients and help them learn about their specific needs and procedures can greatly reduce their fear levels.
Oral Sedation
For patients with a low to moderate level of anxiety we often use oral sedation which is one of the most common types of sedation that we provide in our office. Oral Sedation is basically sedation through a prescribed medication that is taken orally by the patient before their visit. There are different options and levels of oral sedation that can be decided by the Doctor and Patient together during the exam process. Oral sedation can simply take the edge off for patients making them feel sleepy and relaxed but aware. Patients will need a driver to and from their appointments.
IV Sedation
For patients with moderate to high levels of anxiety requiring simple procedures. IV sedation can offer the “twilight” level of sedation where the sedation medication is delivered intravenously and patients will not be fully aware or remember any of their experiences in the chair but will not be fully asleep. For this level of sedation we have our own dental anesthesiologist who will start and monitor the sedation level during the entire procedure while the dentist can focus on delivering the highest level of dental care.
General Anesthesia
For Patient with high levels of dental anxiety and also requiring complex surgical procedures. General Anesthesia or ” Deep Sedation” is when the patient is fully asleep for the entire procedure. Much like IV Sedation this is done by the Dental anesthesiologist who will monitor the deep sedation from beginning to end.
This is a very brief explanation for the different options to help patients with dental anxiety all of the specifics about each type of sedation can be explained to each patient at their initial consult and or exam with the dentist. If you have more questions or would like to schedule a free consult or full new patient exam visit please call our office at (909) 748-7292