The Lowdown on Sedation Dentistry
It is estimated that 30 percent of the total population avoids the dentist’s chair due to fear and anxiety especially where pain is concerned. Indeed, almost every person you meet will have stories of how deathly afraid he was of the dentist at one point of his life or another. This is, of course, a sad state of affairs considering that dental health is very important in the maintenance of general health.
Fortunately, sedation dentistry has significantly helped to reverse this situation, thanks to the ways in which a relaxing and calming experience is provided for the patient. Truly, your dental phobia should be a thing of the past!
Sedation Explained
In layman’s terms, sedation is the process by which sedatives are used to induce a relaxed, calm and easy physical and, subsequently, mental state. The sedatives used depends on the type of procedure being done, said sedatives of which can include depressants, anti-anxiety medications, tranquilizers and nitrous oxide administered in many ways particularly through an intravenous (IV) line on the hand or arm.
However, for people who wish to avoid injections with an IV line, sedation dentistry also offers other modes of administration such as inhalation and the so-called no needle approach. No matter the modality chosen, the ultimate effect is similar -to keep you relaxed during the entire dental procedure.
Need for Local Anesthetic
Lest you think that dentistry using sedatives mean that you are fully unconscious during the dental procedure, think again. In reality, some level of consciousness will be maintained, which is necessary for some steps requiring your cooperation as well as to ensure safety. The difference lies in the fact that you will be so relaxed it will feel like you have slept through the entire appointment on the dreaded dentist’s chair.
It must also be emphasized that sedation dentistry also requires the use of a local anesthetics for certain procedures, which are necessary to block of the pain. However, you will be so relaxed by the sedatives that you probably will not remember being injected by the anesthetic.
Need for Companion
Take note that the effects of the sedatives used in this type of dentistry will last for hours after administration, said effects of which include drowsiness. As such, it is very important to have somebody accompany you to the dentist clinic and then get you safely back home, with him driving the car, of course.
Benefits of Procedure
As can be implied from the previous discussion, sedation dentistry has many benefits including the following:
Often, fewer appointments are made possible especially for extensive dental procedures such as smile makeovers. You will feel that it only took a few minutes to finish when in reality, it may have taken a few hours. In short, your tolerance for sitting still in the dentist’s chair is significantly improved.
You will be more than encouraged to take better care of your oral health through more dental visits. After all, your dental phobia is now gone.
We should thank our lucky stars that we live in the 21st century where sedation dentistry makes for a great experience out of sitting on the electric, er, dentist’s chair.